


You And Me

by Munchy93



Category: Paula Martin - Fandom, Sophie Webster - Fandom
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2019-07-17 16:59:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 45
Words: 39,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16099916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Munchy93/pseuds/Munchy93
Summary: A story of Sophie and Paula in the aftermath of their first kiss. Will they stay happily together or will they be torn apart when they get found out?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic in a long time. Please feel free to comment. And also let me know if there is anything you would possibly like to happen between Sophie and Paula.

It was a lovely sunny morning in Weatherfield and Sophie had just woken up still smiling from the kiss that she had had with Paula the day before. She reached over to her bedside table and grabbed her phone, there was a message from Paula:

"Hi, how are you today? I was hoping we could meet up later without your mum if you want? Xx"

"Hey, I'm good thanks, what about you? I'd love to meet up later, how about 'The Duck' pub at around 7pm? Xx"

I'm okay just catching up on paperwork. That sounds great, see you at 7 xx"

Sophie couldn't stop smiling, she was excited to see Paula again tonight. But for now she had to get ready for work. Whilst at work Sophie couldn't concentrate on what she was supposed to be doing and kept getting orders mixed up.

"Sophie, what's got into you today?" Yasmeen her boss asked.

"Ehh nothing, just didn't get a lot of sleep last night" she replied lying to Yasmeen. Sophie had quite a strong bond with her boss since working at the restaurant, and she hated lying to her. But nobody could find out about what had happened with her and Paula the day before.

"Oh, well can you try and concentrate please, it's getting quite busy"

"Yeah, sorry Yasmeen" she answered as she picked up two plates of food to take to a young looking couple in the corner of the restaurant.

As Sophie turned around to head to the kitchen for more orders she caught sight of Paula walking down the steps into the restaurant. She stood checking her out for a couple of seconds before she headed to the kitchen. She couldn't believe that her mum's hot shot lawyer had taken an interest in her. 

After she had taken another plate of food over to a different table she decided to approach Paula and take her order:

"Hi, what can I get you?" 

"Can I have a salad and a coffee please" Paula answered looking up at Sophie smiling.

"Of course. What brings you here?" Sophie asked.

"Just thought I'd come check this place out and see if I could distract you" 

"Oh, well you have definitely managed to do that" Sophie said with a smile on her face. Paula smiled back at her and Sophie headed to the kitchen to get the order done.   
About 10 minutes later Sophie returned to the table with the food and coffee:

"Enjoy" she said placing it on the table in front of Paula.

"Don't worry I will" Paula answered looking Sophie up and down before she turned and walked back to the kitchen.

Yasmeen had noticed how Sophie and Paula reacted when they saw each other:

"Could your lack of sleep be something to do with that woman over there?" She asked.

"Umm what do you mean?" 

"I saw the way you looked at each other whilst taking her order."

Oh I don't know what you're on about" Sophie shiftily replied.

"She's your mum's lawyer right?"

"Yeah we met yesterday, my mum tried to set me and her daughter Isla up on a date, but it didn't work out because she's going travelling"

"Ahh well from the way she looked at you,  I think she's glad that it didn't work out, and so are you."

"Can we talk about this later Yasmeen, there's customers waiting?" Sophie asked hoping that that would be the end of the conversation. Yasmeen nodded and they both went back to serving customers. 

Paula had left after slowly eating her food and making her coffee last quite a while, not that Sophie was complaing, she was enjoying checking Paula out whilst she worked. Eventually after what felt like a long day the restaurant had closed and Sophie had just finished cleaning it up.

"I'm done now Yasmeen, I'm going to get off if that's okay?"

"Yes that's fine, I will see you tomorrow, bye"

"Bye" Sophie shouted through to Yasmeen who was in the kitchen. She then grabbed her bag and headed home relieved that Yasmeen hadn't mentioned her and Paula again.


	2. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not really sure about this chapter, I didn't want to go into too much detail with their conversation....but I've got a lot more planned for the two of them.

It was 6pm and Sophie was trying to find something nice to wear for her date with Paula. After changing her outfit 3 times she finally decided on wearing denim blue skinny jeans, a tight fitted low cut t-shirt, converse and smart blue jacket. She was finally ready and called for a taxi.  
As the taxi pulled up outside 'The Duck' pub Sophie all of a sudden felt really nervous about meeting up with Paula without her mum there. Sophie took a deep breath and walked into the pub to see Paula sitting at a table in the corner of the room. She nervously walked over to the table and as she did so Paula looked up at her with a smile on her face:

"Well someone's looking pretty hot tonight" Paula said checking Sophie out. 

"Umm thanks, not looking too bad yourself" Sophie replied blushing slightly at Paula's comment.

As Paula had come straight from work she was still in her work clothes which consisted of black trousers, a pale pink coloured blouse, a blazer jacket and heels.

"I got you a glass of wine if that's okay?" Paula asked as Sophie sat down opposite her.

"That's fine, thank you" Sophie replied not really knowing what to say as the nerves got the better of her.

"You're nervous, don't worry I am too" Paula said observing Sophie''s nervousness. 

After a while both of their nervousness faded away and they chatted for a couple of hours. They spoke about how Paula first got into being a lawyer and eventually running her own law firm, and how Sophie had had many different jobs before working at the restaurant. 

"As much as I would love to carry on chatting with you, I should go, i've got an early meeting with a client in the morning" Paula said reluctantly, not wanting to end her time with Sophie.

"Yeah, and I've got work in the morning, so I better head off too" she replied equally as reluctant as Paula.

"I could give you a lift home if you like?"

"Are you sure?, I will be fine getting a taxi"

"Yeah, I'd really like to drive you home, gives us some extra time together" 

"Okay, thank you" Sophie said smiling at Paula.

As they arrived at Weatherfield Sophie told Paula to pull up around the corner so nobody would see them together.

"I've had a really nice time with you Sophie, and I hope we can do it again soon" Paula said as she turned her car engine off.

"I've had a really nice time with you too, and I would love to meet up with you again" Sophie answered as she looked affectionately at Paula.

The two of them sat gazing at each other for a couple of seconds before Paula leaned into Sophie and gave her a gentle kiss. Sophie pulled away for a second and momentarily looked at Paula before kissing her more passionately wrapping her arms around her body and pulling her into her as much as she could with being in the car.

"Soph, we should stop" Paula said breathlessly as she pulled away from Sophie taking her hand in her own.

"Hmm, I was enjoying that" Sophie answered with a look of dissapointment on her face.

"Me too, but you need to go before someone sees us" 

"I suppose so....text me when you're home?" 

"I will, and I will hopefully see you soon" 

"Yes you will, bye" Sophie said as she got out of the car.

"Bye" Paula replied before she watched Sophie walk down the street and out of view.

When Sophie got home she got a glass of water, said goodnight to her Dad and headed upstairs to bed.  
She had been in bed about half an hour when her phone went off, she picked it up and read the text from Paula:

'I'm home now, thank you again for a lovely night, I didn't want it to end xx'

'Good, and I didn't want it to end either, especially the kissing part ;) xx'

Sophie pressed send and waited for Paula to reply.

'Well that was the best part....I can't wait to see you again xx' 

The two of them texted for a while before deciding to go to sleep with a massive smile on both their faces.


	3. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the chapters are quite short but I only have a little bit of time to write them each night....but I already have something in mind for the next chapter. Please let me know if you're enjoying it or not :)

Sophie woke up with the sound of Jack shouting at his game he was playing on. She grabbed her phone from the beside table hoping Paula had messaged her, but she hadn't. She began to feel worried that she had messed everything up last night. Sophie sighed and got out of bed, got showered and dressed and headed downstairs:

"Morning Soph" her dad cheerily said.

"Morning, you seem in a good mood"

"Yeah, taking Jack to the cinema later, do you want to come?"

"No thanks, I'm not really in the mood for a film" sophie said glumly.

"Oh, what's wrong?" Kevin asked concerned.

"Nothing for you to worry about Dad. I'm going to go and see Mum" 

"Oh okay, see you later"

"Bye" Sophie answered as she walked out of the door.

Over at her Mum's house Paula was there going through some paperwork with Sally regarding the court case. She was secretly hoping that Sophie would pop in.

"I just need you to sign here, then we can go through the case again" Paula told Sally pointing to the signature line. 

"Alright no problem, but can we be quick as I've told Gina I will go into town with her" Sally replied as she finished signing the paper.

"Well we could go through it tomorrow instead if you like, I've got a free afternoon" 

"Yeah, that will be great, thanks" 

Just as Sally answered her Sophie walked through the door:

"Hi love, you okay?" Sally asked looking at her daughter.

Yeah I'm fine Mum" 

"Hi Sophie" Paula spoke.

"Oh hi Paula" sophie answered looking at her scepticaly.

"Have you got any plans for today?" Sally asked.

"No, just thought I'd come and chill here for a bit, it's noisy at Dad's with Jack playing on his game" 

"He always gets so mad when he plays his games" 

"Yeah tell me about it" Sophie said chuckling slightly.

"Anyway I'm off to meet Gina now, we're going into town"

"Yes I should be heading off too" Paula stated.

"Oh stay and finish your coffee, I'm sure Sophie won't mind will you love?" 

Umm no not at all" Sophie replied looking at Paula hoping she would stay.

"Okay, thanks Sal, I will see you tomorrow"

"No problem, bye" Sally said as she left.

Sophie and Paula were now alone and Paula could see there was something on Sophie's mind:

"What's up?" Paula asked walking over to Sophie and sitting down next to her.

"Nothing, it's silly" she answered turning slightly away from Paula.

"Soph tell me" 

"I just thought you would of text me this morning, so when I checked and there was nothing there from you I thought I had messed things up last night". 

"No not at all, I had an amazing time with you last night....I thought I'd just come to your Mum's and hoped you would be here so I could surprise you" Paula said taking Sophie's hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I feel stupid now" Sophie replied looking down at their hands entwined.

"It's okay" Paula reassured her as she leaned in and kissed Sophie.

Sophie kissed her back wrapping her arms around her neck, pulling her closer to her. They continued to kiss getting more and more passionate, Sophie dominating Paula's mouth with her tongue. She gently lent backwards into the sofa pulling Paula on top of her, both of them getting lost in the kiss. Sophie started roaming her hands down Paula's body making Paula stop the kiss.

"Soph, we need to stop" she said breathlessly leaning her forehead against Sophie's.

Sophie looked up at her with a frown on her face:

"But I want you" Sophie said blushing slightly.

"I want you too, but not here, not now, someone could come in. Plus I've got to get to a meeting"

"Argh, okay" Sophie said disappointed.

"Believe me I'm disappointed too....but it will happen soon"  

"Well it better do because it's driving me crazy not being able to touch you" 

"Oh trust me it will, I can't wait to get my hands on you....but right now I have to go"  Paula said giving Sophie a pouty look.

"Looking forward to it" Sophie replied flirtily.

"I will see you tomorrow if you're here when I come to see your Mum"

"Just try and stop me....now go before you're late" 

"Yes boss" Paula replied giving Sophie a peck on the lips before leaving.

Sophie sat on the sofa smiling and excited at the fact that she got to see Paula again the next day, even if it was with her Mum there. Little did Sophie know that Paula had something planned for just the two of them afterwards


	4. 4

The next morning Sophie was up quite early as she wanted to make sure she looked good for Paula. Her Dad had gone to work and Jack was at school so Sophie had the house to herself, she sat on the sofa trying to read a magazine to pass the time but all she could think about was seeing Paula again. It had just turned 11am and she was getting really fed up of waiting so she decided to just go to her Mum's house and wait for her to turn up.  
Sally was busy cleaning up, so Sophie went up to her bedroom and decided to text Paula:

'Where are you, I'm already at my Mum's waiting for you xx'

'I'm setting off in ten minutes or so, just clearing things up from a meeting I've just had xx'

Sophie read the message and sighed, feeling annoyed that she had to wait longer for Paula. She put her phone in her pocket, picked up a book she had on her dresser and headed back downstairs, wishing Paula would hurry up.

Half an hour had passed before there was a knock on the door:

"Sophie get the door it will be Paula, I will be down in a minute"

"Okay" Sophie answered as she went to answer the door.

"Hey you" Paula said smiling at Sophie.

"Hi, you took your time, come in, Mum will be down in a minute"

"Sorry it took longer than I thought it would....but I'm happy to see you though" 

"I'm happy to see you too, I just wish my Mum wasn't here" Sophie said with a disappointed look on her face. 

"Hmm me too, but I have plans for us after I've been through everything with your Mum" Paula answered flirtily.

"What plans?"

"Just you wait and see" Paula said winking at Sophie just as Sally came downstairs.

Whilst Sally and Paula was at the kitchen table going through the case, Sophie was sat on the sofa pretending to read her book. She subtly kept looking over at Paula wondering what plans she had for them. 

"Right, so everything is clear yeah?" Paula asked Sally.

"Yes, thank you" 

"Alright, well I have to get going now, got things to get ready before Isla leaves....but can I please use your bathroom first?"

"Yeah sure, you know where it is" Sally replied.

As soon as Paula got upstairs she text Sophie:

'After I leave, give it ten minutes then meet me round the corner'

Sophie read the message and a huge smile spread across her face:

"What are you smiling at?" Sally asked her daughter.

"Just read something that amused me that's all" Sophie answered hoping her Mum wouldn't push her for more information. But she didn't get the chance to as Paula came back down stairs:

"Right, I'm going to get off now Sal, I will see you soon" 

"Okay see you soon, and thanks again for going through this with me" 

"No problem, bye" Paula answered before glancing at Sophie and heading out of the door.

"What are you doing for the rest of the afternoon?" Sally asked Sophie.

"I'm actually going to go in a minute, I'm meeting an old friend from school" 

"Oh what friend?" 

"Claire"

"I don't remember you being friends with someone called Claire" Sally said quizzically.

"We wasn't that close, but we just started talking again recently" Sophie answered.

"Oh is she a lesbian too?" 

"No Mum, I'm going now, bye" Sophie replied heading for the door before Sally asked more questions.

"Bye love" and with that Sophie was out the door making her way to where Paula was waiting.

As she rounded the corner she saw Paula sat in her Audi messing with something on the dashboard. As Sophie approached the car Paula looked up at her and gave her a smile:

"Get in before someone sees you" 

Paula starts the engine as Sophie gets into the passenger side: 

"So where are we going?" Sophie asked as Paula pulled away from the pavement and headed out of Weatherfield.

"Well as the weather is so nice I thought we could go to Blackpool and spend some time together just the two of us"

"Yeah sounds good to me" Sophie answered putting her hand on top of Paula's.

It wasn't too far a drive to Blackpool, and they both talked and laughed all the way there enjoying being in each other's company. Once they arrived and Paula had parked the car up the two of them decided to go for a walk along the beach. 

They had walked a short distance along the beach before Paula felt Sophie's hand brushing against hers slightly, she took this as a sign that Sophie wanted to hold hands. Paula looked at Sophie and gently entwined their hands together making Sophie look up at her:

"I could feel your hand brushing against mine and thought this is what you wanted" Paula stated looking down at there entwined hands.

"Yeah it is, but I didn't know if you would want to" 

"Well I do want to, so next time don't hesitate just go for it" Paula replied giving Sophie a smile trying to reassure her that it's what she wanted too.

They carried on walking hand in hand talking and laughing with each other before they decided to get something to eat and headed to a restaurant. Sitting at a table outside of the restaurant eating their chips that they had ordered they carried on talking:

"This is nice"

"What is, the chips?" Sophie asked. Paula chuckled slightly before replying.

"No, being here with you not having to worry that someone might see us together" 

"Yeah it is nice, I just wish we could be like this back home" Sophie answered with a hint of sadness in her voice. 

"I know, and we can be as soon as your Mum's case is over with" Paula said placing her hand on top of Sophie's gently stroking her thumb along the back of it.  
Sophie looked deep into Paula's eyes and gave her a small smile.

"I suppose we better head back home" Sophie said breaking the intense eye contact.

"Yeah we should, come on we'll go back to the car" she answered standing up taking Sophie's hand in hers once more and heading back to the car.

Sophie was grateful that she got to spend the afternoon with Paula but it didn't stop her from feeling a little bit disappointed that it was coming to an end. She was gazing out of the car window so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that Paula had pulled into a car park until she turned the engine off. Sophie turned around to face Paula: 

"Why have we stopped?" She asked looking at Paula slightly confused.  
   
"Well this is the second part of my plan for us today" 

"Which is what?" 

"I thought after spending the afternoon together that neither of us would want it to end, so I've booked us into a hotel for the night" 

"Oh, umm okay" Sophie replied all of a sudden feeling nervous.

"We don't have to stay if you don't want to" Paula said noticing how nervous Sophie was. 

"No I want too, I just didn't expect it that's all" Sophie stated making sure Paula knew that she wanted to stay.

"Good, because I'm looking forward to spending the night with you" Paula said giving Sophie a gentle kiss.

They got out of the car and started walking towards the hotel, both of them feeling as nervous as each other.


	5. 5

Once Paula had checked them both into the hotel they headed up to the room. Sophie was excited but extremely nervous at the same time. When they had entered the room Sophie stood still looking at Paula who was looking back at her, noticing how nervous Sophie was she decided to try and make her feel more relaxed:

"Why don't we order something to drink?" Paula suggested.

"Err yeah okay" Sophie replied shyly.

"You come and sit down and I'll phone room service" 

Sophie slowly walked over to the small sofa and sat down whilst Paula ordered them a bottle of wine. 

"It shouldn't be too long" Paula said as she walked over to Sophie and sat down beside her taking her hand:

"You're nervous, don't worry, so am I" 

"Yeah, I just don't want to mess it up" Sophie said with a hint of worry in her voice.

"I'm sure you won't, besides we don't have to do anything if you don't want too" Paula replied trying to reassure her. 

Before Sophie could reply there was a knock at the door so Paula went to answer it and returned with a bottle of wine and two glasses. She poured some wine into each glass and handed one to Sophie:

"Just relax and have a drink with me" she said with a smile.

"Thanks, I think I need one or three" Sophie replied taking the glass out of Paula's hand which made her chuckle slightly.

"You're cute when you're nervous" Paula stated causing Sophie to blush.

"Thanks I guess....can I ask you something?"

"Sure"

"Does the age gap bother you?" Sophie asked.

"No not at all, if it did I wouldn't be sat here with you right now....why does it bother you?" 

"Not really, I just sometimes worry that you might think I'm too young for you"

"I would never think that....if anything it should be me worrying that I'm too old for you, I'm no spring chicken you know, and after having a baby my body isn't what it used to be" Paula answered.

"Well I don't mind about that you're still perfect to me" Sophie said becoming more confident after the two glasses of wine she had drunk. 

"You're pretty damn perfect to me too" Paula replied placing her glass on the table and taking Sophie's from her hand and placing it next to her own. 

Paula looked up and gazed deeply into Sophie's eyes before leaning in and kissing her softly. Sophie smiled into the kiss wrapping her arms around Paula's neck and pulling her closer to her so she could deepen it. Paula decided to take the lead, running her hands down to the hem of Sophie's top she stopped kissing her momentarily to make sure she was okay with it. When Sophie smiled and nodded at her to carry on Paula lifted her top up over her head and discarded it onto the floor before removing her own top and doing the same. She raked her eyes over Sophie's torso whilst standing up and holding her hand out for her to take, which she did. Paula pulled Sophie close to her and started to kiss her again whilst slowly walking her backwards towards the bed and laying her down on it:

"Take the rest of your clothes off" Paula instructed whilst removing her own clothes. 

Sophie didn't say anything and did as she was told. After they had both completely removed their clothes Paula looked at Sophie with anticipation before climbing on top of her and kissing her again, her hands roaming all over her body making her squirm underneath her.

"Paula, please, I want you" Sophie begged in between kisses, not being able to take the torture anymore. 

Paula was pleased that she had made Sophie feel like this and ran her fingers through her folds making Sophie moan. 

"You're so wet Sophie" Paula stated before sliding two fingers into her and thrusting them in and out, getting harder and harder. 

"Mmmm fuck" Sophie moaned softly which spurred Paula on. She kept on going making Sophie moan louder and louder: 

"I'm so close, don't stop" Sophie mumbled in between breaths. With that Paula curled her fingers and thrust them into her deeply making her come undone. She enjoyed every second of watching Sophie ride out her orgasm before gently removing her fingers and laying down next to her giving her a soft kiss. 

"That was amazing" Sophie said trying to get her breath back. 

"You're amazing" Paula replied smiling at her, totally amused that she had made her feel this way.

"Now it's your turn" Sophie said with a wicked grin on her face as she climbed on top of Paula to return the favour. 

Sophie wasted no time in giving Paula what she wanted and thrusted her fingers into her wet folds causing her to moan loudly. When she knew Paula was close she swapped her fingers for her tongue and continued to pleasure her. 

"Soph" she moaned as Sophie buried her tongue further into her making her come undone. Sophie glanced up at her in amusement whilst tasting every last bit of her.

When she was done Sophie made her way back up to Paula and kissed her passionately before collapsing at the side of her:

"Well that was definately worth the wait" Paula said after she finally got her breath back.

"It definately was" Sophie answered looking at Paula.

The two of them chatted in bed for a while before cuddling up and falling asleep in each others arms. Both of them content with each other, and both with a massive smile on their face.


	6. 6

Morning came and Paula was the first to wake up. She looked at Sophie who was still sleeping peacefully in her arms, she was thinking how lucky she was to have found someone so perfect. After a couple of minutes Sophie began to wake up:

"Morning" Paula said as she kissed Sophie on the cheek.

"Morning....have you been awake long?" 

"No, about 10 minutes or so" 

"Oh....you don't regret last night do you?" Sophie asked with a worried look on her face.

"No, not one bit of it, why do you?" 

"Not at all, I was just worried you might of done" 

"Well I don't, so stop worrying" Paula replied smiling at Sophie.

"Good....I just wish we could stay here like this forever"

"Me too, but unfortunately we have to get back to reality soon....but first how about I order us some breakfast?" Paula asked.

"Sounds good, can I have toast please?"

"Of course, I think I will have some too" Paula said whilst picking up the phone to call room service.

The two of them enjoyed their breakfast in bed and afterwards cuddled up talking to each other. Both Sophie and Paula didn't want to leave the hotel but they knew they had too.

"We should get going" Paula stated.

"I suppose we should" Sophie replied with a sad look on her face.

"Don't be sad Soph, we will see each other again soon" Paula said holding Sophie's hand.

"I know, I just hate that we have to sneak around" 

"Me too, but hopefully soon we won't have too" Paula said whilst getting out of bed to get dressed.

Sophie followed Paula's actions and started to get herself dressed. After a while they were both ready to go and went and checked themselves out of the hotel and made their way to Paula's car.

They soon arrived back in Weatherfield and Paula parked around the corner:

"I had a really nice time with you yesterday, I hope we can do it again sometime" Paula stated taking Sophie's hand in hers.

"I enjoyed it too, and I would love to do it again"

"I'm glad you did....now go before someone sees us" 

"I am" Sophie replied before giving Paula a kiss goodbye and turning to walk down the street towards home.

On her way home Sophie saw her mum, she tried to avoid her but Sally was having none of it.

"Where did you go last night? You're Dad said you didn't come home" Sally asked.

"I went to Claire's house and we had a couple of drinks so I decided to stay over" 

"Oh right, you're spending a lot of time with Claire, I thought she was straight?" 

"Yeah I am, and yeah she is straight....I can be friends with girls without sleeping with them you know" Sophie replied whilst walking away from her Mum, she was getting really annoyed with her being so nosey.  
   
Just as she got home her phone bleeped:

'I'm missing you already xx'  a smile crept across Sophie's face as she read the message from Paula.

'I'm missing you too....just had to face my Mum who had 20 questions about where I was last night and who with xx'

'What did you tell her? Xx'

'I told her I had a few drinks with Claire and stayed at her house....hopefully she will leave it now xx' 

'Here's hoping....anyway I've got a mountain of paperwork to do so I will message you later xx' 

'Okay, I look forward to it xx' 

Sophie sighed and put her phone in her pocket before sitting down and finding something to watch on TV. She hated the fact that she couldn't see Paula as much as she liked too, and sitting in the front of the TV thinking about it wasn't helping. Sophie decided to go to the bistro instead to see if Kate was working so she could talk to her and distract her mind from thinking about Paula for a little while. Just as she was nearing the bistro someone called her name, she turned around and was completely shocked to see who stood before her....


	7. 7

It took Sophie a couple of minutes to adjust before she spoke: 

"What are you doing here?" 

"I needed to see you, can we talk please?" 

Sophie sighed and looked at the woman standing in front of her before nodding her head and turning around to walk home, the other woman following closely behind:

"I still don't understand why you're here" Sophie said to the woman who was stood in front of her.

"I miss you....I made a terrible mistake leaving you, and I've never stopped thinking about you"

"Why now? It's been nearly 8 years and I haven't even heard from you, not once" Sophie asked.

"I've been thinking about coming back for a couple of years now, I was just too scared to face you again" 

"I waited everyday for four years for you to come back and you didn't, you completely destroyed me" 

"I know and I'm really sorry Sophie I never meant to hurt you"

"But you did" 

"I'm sorry and I regret leaving you....but I'm here now and I want you back" 

"No, you don't get to walk back into my life again and expect everything to go back to how it was before" 

"I know it will take time but we can work it out, I know we can....please I love you Sophie, I've always loved you, and I know you still love me too deep down" 

"You need to go" Sophie said getting upset.

"Sophie" the other woman said taking a step closer to her.

"No, please just go" Sophie said taking a step backwards.

The other woman just looked at Sophie with tears in her eyes before turning around and leaving. Sophie didn't know what to do, she was upset and confused by the other woman turning up like that and declaring her love for her. After a while she decided to pull herself together and head to the Bistro, she definately needed a drink. A while had passed and Sophie was perched on a stool in front of the bar talking to Kate about life in general when her phone bleeped. It was Paula:

'Hi, I've finished for the day now, so was wondering if you wanted to meet up? Xx'

Sophie sighed when she read the message, she didn't really know if it was a good idea to see Paula right now, but she needed the distraction:

'Hey, yeah sounds good, where should I meet you? Xx'

"I will pick you up round the corner in 10 minutes xx'

Sophie half smiled and headed off to meet Paula. Once she arrived Sophie got into the passenger side of the car and sat there in complete silence:

"What's up?" Paula asked taking Sophie's hand, noticing how quiet she was.

"Nothing" 

"Oh, you're not usually this quiet" 

"I can't do this anymore, I'm sorry" Sophie said whilst getting out of the car. 

"Do what?" Paula asked getting really worried.

"This, us, everything" Sophie replied whilst starting to walk away from Paula.

"Sophie...." Paula called after her which made Sophie quicken her pace and disappear out of view. 

Paula didn't understand what had just happened, they were fine this morning and now here she was sitting in her car crying after watching Sophie leave her. She decided to drive home and tried calling and texting Sophie but she got no reply. Paula didn't have a clue what to do, but one thing she did know was that she wasn't going to let Sophie go, not without fighting for her.


	8. 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i'm not really happy with the beginning of this chapter. I had to write it again as I accidently deleted it, and couldn't remember what I had wrote!! Which really annoyed me because I was happy with it....anyway here is the next part, thanks for reading....

When Sophie got home she went straight upstairs to her bedroom and broke down in tears, thinking about what had happened in the last few hours. She kept hearing her phone going off, so she picked it up and saw that it was Paula. She sighed and turned it off, not bothering to read what she had put, and curled up in a ball on her bed and cried herself to sleep. 

Morning came and Sophie reached for her phone and turned it back on. She read the messages from Paula and decided not to reply because she didn't have a clue how to tell her what had happened, and she also really didn't feel like talking about it right now. She could hear her Dad and Jack talking and laughing downstairs, but she really wanted to be on her own so she could think about what to do, so she decided to go to her Mum's house as she knew her Mum would be working. However when she got there her Mum was at home on her dinner break:

"Hi love, are you okay?" Sally asked her daughter as she came in and sat down on the sofa.

"Yeah, I'm alright....are you not working today?"

"Yes, I'm on my dinner break....are your Dad and Jack playing that bloody game again?" 

"Yeah, they're so loud" Sophie said half laughing.

Sally noticed that Sophie wasn't being her usual self and was just about to quiz her about it when there was a knock at the door, so she got up to answer it:

"Paula, I didn't know you were coming today, come in" Sally said wondering if she had arranged for Paula to come but forgotten about it.

"Thanks, I just wanted to go over some things with you again if that's okay?" Paula replied lying through her teeth. She really needed to talk to Sophie and just hoped that she would be here. 

"Yes that's fine, but I've got to go back to work in half an hour" 

"That should be plenty of time....Hi Sophie" Paula said as she walked through and sat down at the kitchen table.

"Hi" Sophie replied not looking up at Paula.

Sally made Paula some coffee and the two of them sat down at the table to go over the same thing that they had gone over a couple of days ago. After a while Sally realised what time it was and had to go before she was late for work:

"I'm really sorry Paula but I have to get back to work" Sally said checking the time.

"It's fine, we're done now anyway....I will just put all of this away and I'll head off" Paula replied.

"Oh you haven't finished your coffee, why don't you stay and finish it, I'm sure Sophie won't mind will you" Sally said looking at Sophie.

"Yeah, cool, whatever" Sophie replied still not looking up at Paula.

"Alright, well I will see you both later, bye" Sally said as she rushed out of the door leaving Sophie and Paula alone.

"Sophie" Paula said as she walked towards where Sophie was sat.

"No, please just go" Sophie answered quietly. 

"I'm not going anywhere, not until we've spoke about what happened last night" Paula replied sitting down next to Sophie.

"There's nothing to talk about" Sophie fired back a little harsher than she meant to be.

"Yes there is, and I'm not leaving until I've got an explanation" 

Sophie finally looked up at Paula with tears in her eyes and seen how worried she looked. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Paula but she knew she had to tell her:

"Sian is back" Sophie said in barely a whisper trying to keep herself together.

"Sian, your ex?" 

"Yeah, she just turned up out of the blue yesterday" 

"What happened?" Paula asked 

"She asked if we could talk so we went to my Dad's house....she told me that she misses me and that she has never stopped loving me and thinking about me....she wants us to try again" Sophie answered with tears rolling down her face.

Paula didn't have a clue what to say, so instead just took hold of Sophie's hand and hoped she would carry on talking. 

"I don't know what to do, she's completely fucked my head up once again" Sophie said.

"Do you still love her?" Paula asked hoping that Sophie would say no.

 

"I'm not going to lie to you....Sian will always be special to me, she will always have a place in my heart deep down" Sophie answered letting go of Paula's hand.

"But do you want to try again with her?" Paula asked now with tears rolling down her own face. 

"I don't want to hurt you Paula, I really like you and I know we have something special....but I just don't know anymore" Sophie replied trying to avoid answering the question directly.

Paula didn't get a chance to answer as someone knocked on the door and Sophie went to answer it:

"Sian, now is not a good time" 

"I just want to talk to you, please Sophie" 

Paula had heard Sophie saying Sian's name and decided she should leave so headed to the door:

"I'm going to go" Paula said as she looked at Sian and then at Sophie.

"You don't have to" Sophie replied feeling bad for upsetting Paula.

"I've got work to do" Paula stated as she walked out the door and got into her car.

"Who's that?" Sian asked with a confused look on her face.

"It doesn't matter....are you coming in or not?" Sophie answered holding the door open so Sian could go into the house.

Paula had drove to work and was sat outside in her car crying. She knew she had lost Sophie to Sian, she could see it in the way that they looked at each other. Although the two of them hadn't known each other for long, Paula could feel herself falling for Sophie and it hurt her so much having to leave her alone with Sian. After sitting in her car upset for a while, Paula pulled herself together, took a deep breath and got out of her car and headed into work, hoping that it would take her mind off of what had just happened.


	9. 9

As much as Paula tried to throw herself into her work, she just couldn't stop thinking about the situation with Sophie. She thought about texting her a few times, but decided against it as she didn't want to seem too pushy and jealous. 

Over at Sally's house Sophie was telling Sian that although she would always love her and care about her in some way that she didn't trust her, and she definately didn't want her back and to leave her alone. Obviously Sian didn't accept it and told Sophie that she wouldn't give up on her again and that she was going nowhere, before eventually leaving the house. Sophie was quite upset after Sian had left, not because of her, but because she was annoyed at herself for letting Sian come between her and Paula. She felt really bad at how harsh she had been with Paula so decided to text her:

'Hey, can we meet? We need to talk xx'

Not long after she sent it Paula replied:

'Yes, I'm at the office, meet me here at 6? Xx' 

'I will do, thank you xx' 

Back at the office Paula was worried about what Sophie had to talk about. She knew she had to pull herself together before she got there. It was nearly 6pm and Sophie was on her way to meet Paula, she was feeling anxious about what they were about to talk about. Once there Sophie took a deep breath and entered the building:

"Hi, is there anything I can help you with?" A polite, young looking man asked.

"I'm looking for Paula Martin, she's expecting me" Sophie replied.

"No problem, she's just in her office, follow me" the man said as he led Sophie to where Paula was.

The man knocked on the door of the office and waited for Paula to shout that he could go in:

"Come in" Paula shouted.

"Paula, this young woman here said you was expecting her" he replied looking for Paula's approval.

"Yes I was, thank you Ezra....why don't you get yourself off home, you deserve a break" 

"I've still got some paperwork to do" Ezra stated.

"Well just leave it and go home" 

"Yes boss, see you tomorrow" he replied smiling at Paula before turning and walking back to his desk to collect his things and then leaving the building.

After he had gone Paula stood up and walked over to the main entrance and locked the door so her and Sophie could talk without any interruptions.

"Come in and sit down" she instructed Sophie as she walked back into her office and closed the door behind her.

Sophie did as she was told and sat on the small sofa in the corner of the room, Paula sitting down beside her.

"I'm sorry about last night and earlier" Sophie said quietly looking at Paula.

"It's alright, I know how hard this must be for you" 

"It's not alright though is it, I let Sian get into my head and I was horrible to you" 

"Just forget about it....I know you've probably come here to tell me that you're giving it another go with Sian anyway" Paula replied with sadness in her voice.

"What, no, Paula you've got it all wrong....I came here to tell you that I want you and only you" Sophie said taking Paula's hand in her own.

"Really? Are you sure?" 

"Yes I'm positive....you make me so happy, the happiest I've been in a long time and I'm not going to throw what we have away" 

"But what about what you said about Sian earlier?"

"What I said is true, but I don't want her back and she knows that now.... I want to be with you"

"And what did she say?" Paula asked grasping onto Sophie's hand.

"She said she wasn't going to give up on me, and that she was going nowhere, and then she left" 

"What are you going to do?" 

"I don't know....but what I do know is that right now I want you" 

"I want you too" Paula replied pulling Sophie in close to her and wrapping her arms around her. Sophie rested her head on Paula's shoulder, feeling relieved that she had forgiven her for being horrible to her. 

The two of them stayed like that for a couple of minutes before Sophie moved her head from Paula's shoulder and looked up into her eyes. The older woman looked back at her before leaning in and placing a soft kiss on her lips. Sophie pulled away momentarily to look at Paula again before crashing their lips together in a passionate kiss....


	10. 10

The kiss was heating up more and more as Sophie began to undo the buttons on Paula's blouse and gently pushed her back onto the sofa so she was laying on top of her. Sophie briefly stopped the kiss to look deep into Paula's eyes:

"I'm going to show you how much I want you" Sophie said with a wicked glint in her eyes.

Sophie didn't give Paula a chance to answer, instead she crashed their lips together once more, her hands roaming up and down Paula's body making her squirm beneath her. Sophie didn't make Paula wait too long as she slid her hand down into her underwear and inserted two fingers into her sex and began thrusting them in and out, making Paula moan in pleasure:

"Mmmm fuck, don't stop" Paula moaned inbetween breaths. 

Sophie didn't stop but instead speeded up her pace and thrusted her fingers deeper into Paula until she came crashing down around them. 

"Fuck, that was amazing" Paula said trying to get her breath back.

Once Paula had regained her composure she flipped them around so she was now on top of Sophie:

"Now it's my turn to show you" Paula said as she began kissing Sophie's neck. 

She lifted Sophie's top up to just above the top of her bra and ran her fingers over her stomach making Sophie let out a little moan. Just as she slid her hand down into Sophie's underwear she heard someone clearing their throat at the door which made her jump away from Sophie:

"Shit, Ezra" Paula said looking up at the man stood in the doorway whilst quickly doing the buttons on her blouse back up, and Sophie pulling her top back down.

"Umm sorry for interrupting, I left my phone here, and saw the light on so thought I'd see if you was alright....I will just grab it and get out of your way" Ezra said whilst turning away and walking to his desk:

"Give me a minute" Paula said to Sophie.

Sophie just nodded at Paula and watched her walk out of her office and over to Ezra:

 "I'm so sorry about that" Paula said feeling embarrassed that her employee had just walked in on her and Sophie.

"It's okay" Ezra replied picking up his phone and putting it in his pocket.

"Umm can we keep this between us please, we don't want anyone knowing just yet" Paula asked.

"Yeah of course, my lips are sealed....I will leave you to it" Ezra answered walking towards the main door.

"Thank you, I will see you tomorrow"

"No problem, see you in the morning....oh and Paula, good on you" Ezra said giving her a wink before walking out of the door and closing it behind him.

Paula chuckled slightly at Ezra's comment before making her way back to Sophie:

"Well that was awkward" Sophie said as she stood up and walked over to Paula.

"Just a little bit" 

"Will he tell anyone?" Sophie asked with a worried look on her face.

"No, I've asked him not too and he said he wouldn't" 

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I trust him....now how about i take you out for something to eat?" Paula said taking hold of Sophie's hand trying to reassure her.

"What you're just going to leave me like this?" 

"Like what?" Paula answered knowing full well what Sophie was on about.

"All frustrated and wanting you" Sophie replied.

"Hmm, yeah pretty much....now let's get out of here" Paula said giving Sophie a peck on the lips and pulling her towards the door. 

After getting into the car and asking Sophie what she fancied to eat the two of them headed to McDonald's. They both ate their food whilst talking and laughing with each other, just enjoying being in each other's company. After they were done they went back to Paula's car and got in ready to drive back to Weathefield.

"I hate this part, having to leave you" Sophie said.

"Me too" Paula replied just as her phone began to ring, it was Isla:

"Hold on a second, it's Isla" Paula said as she answered her phone. 

Sophie sat quietly caressing Paula's hand with her own as she spoke to her daughter. When Paula had finished on the phone she put it back in her bag and looked up at Sophie with a grin on her face:

"What are you grinning at?" Sophie asked.

"Well Isla just wanted to let me know that she was staying at her mates tonight....so I now have the house to myself and wondered if you maybe wanted to stay the night with me?" Paula replied hoping that Sophie would say yes.

"Err yeah okay, are you sure?" 

"Of course I'm sure, I wouldn't of asked if I wasn't" Paula answered smiling at Sophie.

"Let's go then" Sophie said smiling back at Paula.


	11. 11

Paula pulled up onto the driveway of her house and gave Sophie a small smile before getting out of the car and walking around to greet her: 

"Are you sure you want to stay?" Paula asked.

"Yeah I'm positive" Sophie answered feeling a bit nervous about spending the night at Paula's house.

The two of them walked to the front door and Paula led Sophie into the hallway, locking the door behind her:

"Wow" was all Sophie managed to say.

"What?"

"It's a pretty big house" Sophie replied turning to face Paula.

"It's not that big....come on, I'll get us a drink" Paula said taking Sophie's hand and leading her into the kitchen.

"You've got good taste" Sophie said admiring the deco.

"That I have....is wine alright?" She answered giving Sophie a cheeky smile.

"Wine is good" Sophie replied walking over to where Paula was stood and trapping her between herself and the worktop.

"Although I could think of something better to do" she stated as she kissed Paula hungrily.

"Or you could just have a drink with me first" Paula said breaking the kiss.

"Argh fine" Sophie answered annoyed that Paula was making her wait.

Paula grabbed two glasses and a bottle of wine out of the cupboard and led Sophie into the living room where they both sat on the sofa next to each other. Sophie felt her nerves kick in more as she watched Paula pour the wine:

"You're nervous" Paula stated.

"Just a little bit" 

"Well you wasn't five minutes ago" Paula replied referring to Sophie pinning her against the worktop and kissing her.

"I was, but it's harder to ignore it when I'm sitting this close to you" Sophie said blushing slightly.

"Well just relax and drink this" Paula answered as she handed Sophie a glass of wine.

"Thanks...Isla is definately staying out tonight isn't she?" Sophie asked, taking the glass from Paula.

"Yes she is, now stop worrying and pick us a film to watch" Paula replied.

After Sophie had chosen a film for them to watch, Paula wrapped one of her arms around her and pulled her into her so Sophie was resting her head on her chest. A big smile spreaded across Sophie's face as she relaxed and snuggled herself closer into Paula: 

"This is nice" Paula said quietly.

"What is?" Sophie replied not quite sure what Paula was on about.

"Cuddling on the sofa and watching a film with you" 

"Oh, yeah it is nice" Sophie answered looking up at Paula briefly and smiling before snuggling back into her.

The two of them sat like that for a while, just enjoying being able to spend some alone time together:

"The ending gets me every time" Sophie said crying as the film finished.

"You big softy" Paula answered laughing slightly at Sophie.

Just at that moment Sophie's phone went off with a text from Sian:

'Can we meet tomorrow, I want to talk to you, just as friends'

Sophie sighed after reading the message which didn't go unnoticed by Paula:

"What's up?" 

"Just Sian texting me asking if we could meet tomorrow" Sophie answered fiddling with the phone in her hands.

"Oh, what did you say?" 

"Nothing, I'm not replying to her....right now I'm spending time with you and I don't want her to ruin it" Sophie said as she put her phone in her bag.

"Okay" Paula replied half smiling at Sophie.

Sophie threw her attention back to Paula and looked warmly into her eyes, noticing that she was a bit worried.

"I've already let Sian come between us once, and i promise I'm not going to let her do it again....I'm happy being with you" Sophie said trying to reassure Paula that she didn't want Sian.

"I'm glad to hear that because I'm happy being with you too" Paula replied leaning in and kissing Sophie tenderly.

Sophie smiled into the kiss and wrapped her arms around Paula's neck deepening it.

"Should we take this upstairs?" Paula asked stopping the kiss to look at Sophie.

Sophie just nodded her head as Paula took her hand and led her upstairs to her bedroom. Once they got in there Paula shut the door behind them and started to kiss Sophie passionately, walking her backwards towards the bed and pushing her down onto it and climbing on top of her:

"Now I can finally show you how much I want you" Paula said looking down at Sophie before passionately kissing her again, her hands roaming all over her body. She was loving seeing Sophie squirming beneath her and moaning her name as she got closer to her climax and eventually come undone around her fingers. 

"Maybe I should fall out with you more often if this is what happens when we make up" Sophie said cheekily as she got her breath back.

"Err no, i don't think you should" Paula replied and kissed Sophie chastly on the lips before laying down next to her.

"MUM" 

"Shit, Isla's home" Paula stated as they both heard her shout up the stairs. 

"I thought she was staying out tonight?" Sophie whispered panicking. 

"She said she was....wait here" Paula instructed Sophie as she got out of bed, put her dressing gown on and headed to the door.

"Yeah, I'm coming" Paula shouted back as she made her way downstairs to see why her daughter had come home....


	12. 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter and the next one is about Isla finding out about her Mum and Sophie....and then I can move on to what happens between Sophie, Paula and Sian.

"You're in bed pretty early" Isla stated as her Mum came into the hallway to greet her.

"Yeah, thought I'd get comfy in bed and get some paperwork done....I thought you were staying at your mates tonight?"

"I was, but all of a sudden she said she didn't feel well and was sick, so I thought I'd come home and let her rest" Isla replied whilst walking into the living room to get comfy on the sofa, Paula following behind her.

As soon as Isla walked into the living room she saw the two glasses and half a bottle of wine on the table:

"I'm guessing you've had some company" Isla said looking at the two wine glasses.

"Sally came over earlier, she's really worried about going to court, so I thought I'd try and cheer her up a bit" Paula replied, hoping that Isla would buy the lie she had just told her.

"Oh right, did Sophie come too?" 

"No why?"

"Then how come her jacket and bag is here....what's going on Mum, why are you lying to me?" Isla asked.

"Errr, just hold on a second" Paula replied as she turned and went back upstairs.

Upstairs Sophie was now dressed and was panicking and trying to think of a good excuse for her being here. 

"Sophie I need you to come downstairs with me" Paula said as she entered the bedroom.

"Are you crazy, Isla will go mad" 

"Well she's already seen the two glasses on the table, I told her your Mum had been round earlier but then she saw your jacket and bag on the sofa and asked me what was going on" Paula explained.

"I don't think it's a good idea, can you not make another excuse up....say I came round after my Mum had left to talk and I went to the toilet or something?" Sophie asked.

"For a start I'm in my dressing gown so she's not going to believe that....plus I don't want to lie to her again, please Soph" Paula replied.

"Fine" Sophie said as she got off the bed and walked towards the door. Paula took Sophie's hand in her own and the two of them made their way downstairs and into the living room to confront Isla. As they walked in Isla saw their hands entwined together and instantly knew what was going on:

"Please tell me this isn't happening, the two of you sleeping together" Isla said shocked at seeing her Mum and Sophie holding hands. 

"Isla....me and Sophie are seeing each other" Paula said quietly, looking briefly at Sophie to give her a reassuring look.

"Are you being serious, this is mad, it's wrong on so many levels....I can't believe you've done this to me" Isla said angrily.

"Done what to you?" Paula answered.

"Well you and Sally set us up on a date and all along the two of you were fucking, so why even bother in the first place" 

"No that's not true, that was the first time me and Sophie met, and we felt a connection straight away, we never intended for this to happen" Paula tried to explain whilst Sophie stood next to her saying nothing.

"Whatever, I can't even look at either of you right now....I'm going out" Isla replied angrily before walking out of the front door and slamming it shut behind her. 

"I should go" Sophie said quietly looking at Paula.

"You don't have too" Paula replied gently squeezing Sophie's hand.

"Well I don't think Isla will be very happy if she comes back and I'm still here....I just don't want the two of you falling out with each other, not when she's going away next week" Sophie said letting go of Paula's hand.

"Don't worry about Isla, she's always like this when we have a fight, I will talk to her later when she's calmed down....but right now I just want to sit on the sofa and cuddle with you, so please stay" Paula replied taking Sophie's hand again.

"Are you sure?" Sophie asked.

"Yes, I'm positive" Paula answered giving Sophie a kiss and wrapping her arms around her.

"Okay" Sophie said half smiling.

The two of them snuggled on the sofa watching TV whilst they waited for Isla to come back so they could talk....


	13. 13

Two hours had passed and Sophie was fast asleep in Paula's arms. Paula looked down at her and smiled whilst softly stroking her hair. She couldn't lose Sophie, not now, she knew she had to make her daughter understand. Whilst Paula was sat thinking about everything that had happened Isla walked in and saw them cuddled up together and went straight up to her bedroom. Paula gently moved Sophie off of her trying not to wake her up and then followed her daughter upstairs:

"Isla" Paula said as she opened the bedroom door and walked in.

"What do you want Mum?" 

"I want you to hear me out" she replied now sitting on Isla's bed next to her. 

"Fine, I'm listening" 

"I'm sorry that you had to find out about me and Sophie like that, I wanted to tell you but I just didn't know how to....I know it must of been a shock to you, but please believe me when I say that I care about Sophie a lot, she makes me really happy, the happiest I've been in a long time" Paula said looking softly at her daughter.

"Is it serious?" Isla asked.

"We haven't really spoken about feelings yet, but yes I'd like it to be" 

"Well then you should tell her that" 

"Is this you saying that you're okay with us being together?" Paula asked.

"I went for a drive when I left and I thought about it all, but I couldn't quite believe it and I didn't know what to think....then I came home and seen the two of you cuddled up on the sofa and I could see how happy you was with her....so yeah, I'm not saying it won't be a bit weird but if you're happy then I'm happy and that's all that matters" Isla replied with sincerity in her voice.

"Isla, thank you for understanding and being willing to try and accept it" 

"I just want you to be happy Mum, you deserve it"

"I am very happy" Paula said giving her daughter a hug.

"Good....can I go and talk to Sophie now? I want to apologise to her for going off on one earlier"

"Yeah of course, you will have to wake her up first though....send her up here when you're done" Paula answered smiling at her.

Isla made her way downstairs and woke Sophie up. When she opened her eyes and saw Isla she started to get nervous:

"Where's Paula?" Sophie asked looking around the room.

"She's upstairs, you can go up to her but I want to talk to your first if that's okay?" Isla asked with a warm voice. 

"Yeah that's fine" 

"I'm sorry for going off on one earlier, it was a complete shock seeing you with my Mum and I overreacted....I've told Mum that I'm going to try and accept it, but first I want to make sure that you're not messing her around" Isla said looking at Sophie.

"I'm not messing her around, I really like her, and she makes me so happy it's unbelievable" Sophie replied smiling at how happy she actually was with Paula.

"Just promise me one thing?" Isla asked.

"What" 

"Look after her when I'm away? She will probably be in bits when I go, but I know that as long as she has you then she will be happy, and that's all I want for her, to be happy" Isla replied giving Sophie a small smile.

"Of course I'll look after her, I promise....and thank you for understanding, it means a lot to both of us" Sophie replied sincerely.

"No need to thank me....I can see how much you care about her, and I'm glad she found you and that she's happy....Now go and see her, she's waiting for you" Isla said giving Sophie a hug.

Back upstairs Paula was sat on her bed wondering what Sophie and Isla were talking about. Just as Paula stood up to head downstairs Sophie walked through the door with a big smile on her face and sat down next to her:

"That went better than I expected it to....your daughter is amazing" Sophie said.

"I know, I'm glad she's accepted us seeing each other....I couldn't imagine not having you in my life now" Paula stated looking straight into Sophie's eyes.

"I couldn't imagine you not being in mine either....so umm will you be my girlfriend?" Sophie asked blushing and looking down at her hands, trying to avoid looking at Paula. 

"I'd love to be your girlfriend" Paula replied lifting Sophie's head up so she could give her a long, gentle kiss. 

After talking about their new relationship for a while, Sophie and Paula cuddled up in bed and fell asleep in each other's arms, both with a massive smile on their face.


	14. 14

Morning arrived and Paula was busy cooking a fry up for herself, Sophie and Isla....Sophie was sat at the breakfast bar chatting to Paula when Isla wondered in joining them:

"Morning, I'm making us all a fry up for breakfast" Paula said to her daughter as she took a seat next to Sophie.

"I thought I could smell bacon" Isla replied licking her lips.

"So me and your Mum have got a bit of news" Sophie said looking at Paula who was stood smiling back at her.

"What?" Isla asked.

"We've made it official, I now have a girlfriend" Sophie replied with a massive smile on her face.

"When did this happen?" Isla asked.

"Last night, me and Sophie were talking and she kind of just asked me if I wanted to be her girlfriend" Paula answered slightly laughing at how Sophie had asked her and then hid her face away from her.

"Aww good, I'm happy for you both, I really am" Isla replied giving Sophie a hug and then walking over to her Mum to give her a hug as well.

"Thanks, it means a lot to have your approval" Paula said.

"No problem....so what are you doing today?" Isla asked her Mum.

"Well I thought I would spend the day with my two favourite people, that's if you're not at work today Soph" Paula replied smiling at both Isla and Sophie.

"No its my day off today, but don't you have work?" 

"No I decided to take the day off" Paula said whilst plating up the food.

"Well it sounds good to me" Isla said.

"Yeah me too" Sophie replied before they all tucked into their fry up.

The three of them ate their food and sat chatting for a while:

"Hold on, I've got to take this" Paula said as her phone rang. She picked it up and pressed answer. After the phone call Paula looked at Sophie and Isla with a disappointed look on her face:

"What's up?" Sophie asked.

"Ezra wants me to go into the office, he really needs my help with a case he's got" 

"That's alright, I should be getting home really anyway" Sophie replied.

"I am so sorry" 

"You're not going to be long though are you Mum?" Isla asked.

"Well I'm hoping not" 

"Then why don't me and you do something until she gets back?" Isla asked Sophie.

"Are you sure? I mean it's not going to be too awkward for you is it?" Sophie said. 

No it's fine....is it okay with you? Isla asked directing the question at her Mum.

"That's fine with me" Paula answered.

"Alright, I will stay" Sophie said.

Paula headed off upstairs to get dressed whilst Sophie and Isla went into the living room and put the TV on. After a while Paula came back down dressed in her suit ready to go to work.:

"Right I best get going then....I'm really sorry again" Paula said.

"It's fine, the quicker you get there the quicker you can get back here" Sophie replied with a smile.

Paula stood looking intently at Sophie, she really wanted to kiss her goodbye but didn't want to make Isla feel awkward:

"You can kiss her goodbye you know" Isla said as she noticed her Mum hovering around looking at Sophie, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

With that Paula lent down and kissed Sophie on the lips before saying bye to them both and heading off to work. Sophie and Isla decided that they would go into town to see if they could find any nice clothes for Isla to take travelling with her. But first Sophie had to go home and get changed. After a while Sophie was ready and they both headed out to get back into Isla's car. As soon as they had stepped out of the front door Sian spotted them and wondered over to talk to Sophie.

"Who's this?" Sian asked.

"None of your business" Sophie replied sharply.

"Well where are you going?" Sian asked again.

"Again, that's none of your business" 

Isla just stood there looking at them both.

"Jeeze I'm only trying to make conversation" Sian said clearly annoyed that Sophie was being so blunt with her.

"Well I don't want to talk to you, just leave me alone Sian" 

"But I just want us to be friends again, like we used to be" Sian replied.

"Are you deaf or something, she just told you to leave her alone" Isla piped up causing both Sophie and Sian to look at her.

"I wasn't talking to you....who even are you?" Sian said.

 

"Someone you don't want to mess with....now leave Sophie alone before I do something I might regret" Isla said raising her voice and getting angry at Sian.

"Huh" is all Sian said before she turned around and walked away:

"Thanks for that" Sophie said smiling at Isla.

"No problem....anymore problems with her just let me know" Isla replied as she got into her car. Sophie stood for a couple of seconds trying to register what had just happened before getting into the passenger side of Isla's car.

The two of them made their way into town and hit the shops before retreating back to Paula's house and making a shepherds pie for tea....they were just about to lay the table as Paula came home:

"Mmmm something smells good" Paula said as she walked into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Sophie from behind and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Well let's just hope it tastes as good as it smells then eh" Isla said making Paula chuckle.

"How was work, did you get everything sorted?" Sophie asked as she turned to face her girlfriend.

"Yeah most of it is done, I've left Ezra to finish up the rest so I could get back here to you two" Paula replied

"Good....tea will be done in five minutes" Sophie said.

"Alright, I will go and get changed then" Paula replied giving Sophie a soft kiss before heading upstairs to get changed.

After the three of them had finished eating, they got comfortable on the sofa and watched a film before Isla headed to bed, leaving Paula and Sophie alone:

"You really don't have to worry about Isla going travelling you know" Sophie said looking at Paula.

"What makes you say that?" Paula asked.

"Well earlier I took Isla back to mine so I could get changed before we went into town and we saw Sian...." 

"What happened?" 

"Just Sian being Sian and not leaving me alone when I asked her too....but it was all good because Isla stepped in and told her to leave before she did something she might regret" Sophie explained.

"Oh for goodness sake, Isla and her big mouth" 

"No it was a good thing because Sian actually turned around and walked away, I couldn't believe it" Sophie said bigging Isla up. 

"Oh right, all I can say is that it's a good job she did go, or else Isla probably would of punched her" Paula replied.

"Well she did say that if I had anymore problems with Sian then I've to tell her" 

"Oh bloody hell, that daughter of mine will be the death of me" Paula said laughing.

"I hope not, because I'm not ready to let you go yet" Sophie replied leaning in closer to Paula and kissing her. 

"I'm glad you two are getting along" Paula said as she broke the kiss.

"Me too....I should get going now though" Sophie stated with a sad pouty face.

"Come on then, I'll drop you off" Paula said slightly laughing at the face Sophie was pulling.

The two of them headed to Paula's car and made their way back to the cobbles...


	15. 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay of updates, had a few personal things going on and didn't get time to write anything....but here's the next part.

Once back on the cobbles Paula pulled up around the corner and turned to face Sophie:

"I am really sorry again about earlier" she said as she rested her hand on top of Sophie's.

"It's okay, I know how important your job is to you....besides I quite enjoyed spending the afternoon with Isla, maybe I picked the wrong woman, I mean she is way more fun and so much less granified than you" Sophie replied cheekily.  

"That's not very nice, I can be fun, and i'm not granified am I?" Paula answered with a mock shocked face.

"Well some of those outfits...." 

"Oii don't be so bloody cheeky" Paula interrupted before Sophie could finish her sentence.

"I'm only joking, you're the only woman for me" Sophie replied smiling at Paula.

"Come here you" Paula said as she leaned in and passionately kissed Sophie.

"You should go" Paula said after a while, reluctantly breaking the now heated kiss.

"I know....can I see you tomorrow?" 

"Yeah, I will text you" 

"I'll look forward to it" Sophie replied giving Paula one last kiss before getting out of the car and watching her drive away.

Sophie had just rounded the corner when Sian came walking towards her:

"What was all that about" Sian said loudly with a jealous look on her face.

"What are you on about now Sian?"

"I saw you kissing that woman, she's your Mum's solicitor isn't she" Sian stated.

"You didn't see me kiss anyone, now get out of my way"

"I'm not fucking blind Sophie, I walked passed the car and saw you both getting it on" Sian said angrily.

"Whatever Sian, it's got nothing to do with you anyway" 

"Yeah, well I wonder what your Mum would think about you fucking her solicitor" 

"Don't you dare say anything" 

"Oh that stopped you in your tracks didn't it....I've got nothing to lose so maybe I will just tell her" 

"Sian, please don't do this" Sophie said looking at Sian with pleading eyes.

"Why not?" 

"Because I am finally happy, and if you tell my Mum and I lose her it will break me....and you've already done that to me once, so please don't do it again Sian" Sophie pleaded. 

"But why not Sophie? What have I got to lose? You won't even talk to me properly, I told you before, I just want us to be friends again"  

"Fine, if friends is what you really want then I will try....but please don't tell my Mum or anyone else" Sophie said reluctantly.

"Do you mean that?" Sian asked.

"Yes" 

"Alright, I will keep my mouth shut then" 

"Thank you....I should get home now though, it's getting late" Sophie said forcing a smile.

"Okay, I will see you tomorrow" Sian replied as she turned and walked away, leaving Sophie with unsettling thoughts.

Sophie finally arrived back home and quietly made her way upstairs to bed as her Dad and Jack were already fast asleep. As she lay in bed she picked her phone up off the bedside cabinet and seen a message from Paula:

'I'm home now.... thank you for a lovely tea and evening, I will see you tomorrow, goodnight beautiful xx' 

Sophie smiled as she read the message and sent a quick reply back, deciding not to tell Paula about her encounter with Sian.

"No problem, I enjoyed it too....I can't wait to see you tomorrow, I miss you already, goodnight xx' 

Sophie hit send and placed her phone back onto the bedside cabinet. As she lay there, she thought about Paula and how happy being with her made her feel. She knew she had to tell Paula about what had happened with Sian, but how could she? She couldn't lose her now, she was actually starting to fall for the older woman. Sophie just had to hope that Sian would keep her mouth shut.


	16. 16

The next morning Sophie woke up still feeling worried about telling Paula about what had happened with Sian the night before. She picked up her phone and sent Paula a message:

'Hey, are you free for dinner today? I really need to see you. Xx' 

It wasn't long before Paula replied:

'Hi, yes I'm working from home today so you can come round if you want too? Is everything okay? Xx'

Sophie quickly sent a reply back confirming that she was going to set off soon, but first she had to get ready. She sighed and threw her phone onto her bed before going to have a shower and then getting dressed. Sophie was finally ready and made her way over to Paula's house.

"Hey you" Paula said as she opened the front door to Sophie and gave her a peck on the lips.

"Hi" Sophie replied as she made her way into the living room and sat on the sofa.

"So what's up?" Paula asked as she sat down next to Sophie.

"It's Sian, she saw us kissing in your car last night. She confronted me about it and said she was going to tell my Mum because she had nothing left to lose" 

"Oh, what did you say to her?" 

"I kind of told her that I would try and be her friend. I really don't want to be, but it's the only way that will hopefully stop her from say anything" Sophie said looking down at her hands.

"Maybe we should just come clean to your Mum? That way you don't have to deal with Sian" Paula replied taking hold of Sophie's hand.

"Are you joking, she will go crazy....maybe we should just stop seeing each other" Sophie replied sadly.

"Is that what you really want? Paula asked.

"No, but it will make everything so much more easier" 

"Well me either....so for now just try and stay out of Sian's way, and if you do see her then be civil and friendly with her" Paula said lifting Sophie's head up so she was looking at her.

"She still might tell someone though" Sophie sighed.

"Well then we will deal with that if it comes to it. Now stop worrying" Paula said softly.

"Okay" Sophie said giving Paula a small smile.

"What would you like to eat?" Paula asked, changing the conversation.

"Anything, I'm not fussed" Sophie answered.

Paula headed to the kitchen to make her and Sophie some dinner. She noticed that Sophie wasn't her usual chatty self whilst they were eating, so thought about what she could do to try and cheer her up a bit afterwards: 

"How about I sack work off for the day and then we can spend some time together....I was thinking cuddles on the sofa, junk food and a film?" Paula asked.

"You don't have to do that" 

"I do, because I hate seeing you all worried and sad" Paula stated.

"Hmm okay" Sophie answered.

The two of them spent the whole afternoon doing just that, and eventually Sophie cheered up a bit:

"Are you not going to share the last few of them?" Paula asked referring to the bag of Haribos that Sophie was holding.

"Umm nope" 

"Don't be mean" 

"If you want them come and get them" Sophie said as she grabbed the last two sweets and closed her hand so Paula couldn't get them.

"That's it, you're dead" Paula said as she playfully wrestled Sophie onto her back trying to get the sweets. 

"Alright, alright you can have one" Sophie said making Paula sit up on top of her.

"I should think so" Paula said as Sophie gave her a wicked grin and stuffed both of the sweets into her mouth.

"You didn't just do that" Paula said with a mocked shocked expression on her face.

"Yep I did....you can still get them though" Sophie replied playfully as she grabbed hold of Paula's top and pulled her down so she was lying on top of her. 

"Can I?" Paula said quietly looking Sophie in the eyes.

Sophie just nodded with a serious look on her face before Paula crashed their lips together and forced her tongue into Sophie's mouth, tasting the sweets. 

"Finish them quickly" Paula instructed breaking the kiss for air. 

Sophie swallowed the sweets and pulled Paula back down to kiss her again. The kiss began to get heated and Sophie started to undo the buttons on Paula's blouse:

"Let's take this upstairs" Paula said breathlessly, breaking the kiss once more.

Without another word the two of them made their way up to Paula's bedroom.


	17. 17

Once in the bedroom Paula pinned Sophie against the wall and began kissing her passionately again. She slowly started to undress Sophie until she was stood in just her underwear. She took a step back and raked her eyes over her girlfriend's body, taking in just how beautiful she really was: 

"You're so beautiful Soph....how did I get so lucky" Paula whispered, causing Sophie to blush.

"I'm the lucky one" Sophie replied as she pulled Paula back to her and reconnected their lips. 

Sophie finished undressing Paula and slowly walked her backwards, pushing her down on the bed gently before climbing on top of her. The two of them gazed into each other's eyes for a couple of seconds before Paula pulled Sophie down towards her, kissing her once more.  Sophie moved from Paula's lips and began kissing her neck whilst roaming her hands all over her body. She slowly moved her hand down and removed Paula's underwear before sliding two fingers into her, causing Paula to let out a small moan:

"Soph" Paula moaned as Sophie sped up her fingers and thrusted them deeper into her. 

Sophie loved hearing Paula moan her name and it spurred her on to keep going until she came around her fingers. After she was done she once again lay on top of Paula and kissed her softly. However Paula had other ideas and flipped them over, pinning Sophie to the bed underneath her. She made quick work of her fingers and roughly thrusted them into Sophie causing her to moan loudly. Sophie had never experienced Paula being rough with her, and it took her by surprise: 

"Fuck, Paula, I'm close" Sophie moaned loudly as Paula fucked her harder. 

Paula was loving every bit of Sophie's downfall as she came around her fingers in a mind blowing orgasm. She watched Sophie intently before removing her fingers and laying down beside her.

"I wasn't expecting that" Sophie said as she tried to get her breath back.

"I'm sorry, was it too much?" Paula asked with a worried look on her face.

"Don't be sorry, that was fucking amazing" Sophie replied before giving Paula a soft kiss.

The two of them layed in bed snuggled up to each other for a little while just talking and enjoying being in each other's company. 

"MUM" Isla shouted from downstairs,  breaking the little bubble they were both in.

"Yeah, I'm upstairs" Paula shouted back down to her daughter. 

"Oh sorry, am I interrupting?" Isla asked as she walked into the bedroom and saw them both in bed. 

"No it's fine, what's up?" Paula asked.

"Nothing, I was just wondering if I could borrow £20 off you to go to the cinema with my mate. I've only got my card and I didn't really want to use it in there" Isla explained.

"Of course you can, you will have to get it out of my bag though, it's downstairs" 

"Thanks Mum, I will pay you back at the weekend" 

"No problem" Paula said smiling at her daughter. 

"I will leave you two to it" Isla said as she walked out of the bedroom.

"Are you okay?" Paula asked Sophie, turning to look at her.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking about what Sian's going to do" Sophie sighed.

"Well don't, just forget about her....we're both happy and that's all that matters. I'm not going to let her ruin this for us" Paula explained.

"I know, but aren't you scared about my Mum finding out though?

"Yeah a little bit....but like I said we can deal with that when it happens....so for now let's just enjoy being together" Paula said, kissing Sophie's forehead.

"You're amazing" Sophie replied resting her head on Paula's chest. 

The two of them lay together wrapped up in each other's arms for the rest of the afternoon until Sophie had to leave for work.


	18. 18

The rest of the week flew by for Sophie and Paula. They spent as much time together as they could, which wasn't a lot with them both working different hours. Sophie had managed to be civil to Sian and so far she had kept their secret, but it didn't stop Sophie from worrying about it though:

"What's up?" Yasmeen asked, noticing Sophie had a worried look on her face whilst on her break.

"I'm just worried about Sian telling my Mum about mine and Paula's relationship....It will ruin everything" Sophie replied sadly.

"Try not to worry about it Sophie, just enjoy every second you get to spend with each other" 

"I'm trying to, but what if she does tell her and then Paula can't handle it and leaves me....I can't lose her Yasmeen, I just can't" Sophie said getting upset. 

"Look, whatever happens you and Paula will be fine, it might be hard at first but the two of you are crazy about each other....I can see how much she cares about you Soph, and I don't think she will let anything get in the way of what you both have together" Yasmeen replied, placing her hand on Sophie's shoulder to comfort her.

"I hope you're right because I think I'm falling for her badly....I couldn't imagine not being with her now" Sophie stated.

"Well whatever happens just remember that you can always talk to me" 

"Thank you Yasmeen, it means a lot" Sophie replied as her phone began to ring.

"Argh it's my Mum" Sophie sighed.

"Answer it" Yasmeen said as she gave Sophie a smile and headed back out into the restaurant.

"Hello" Sophie said as she answered the phone.

"Sophie, do you want to come for drinks tonight at the Bistro with me and Gina, I'm going to ask Paula too?" Sally asked.

"Umm yeah sure, I finish at 6 so I will go home and get changed and meet you there" Sophie said.

"Yes, I will see you later then, bye" Sally replied before hanging up.

Sophie smiled at the thought of spending more time with Paula, even if her Mum and Gina was going to be there. She text Paula to make sure she was going:

'Hi, so my Mum is going to be ringing you any time now to see if you fancy drinks at the Bistro tonight, I've already said I will go, so please tell her you are as well xx' 

'Hmm I'll have to think about that one ;) only joking, I will be there xx' 

Sophie instantly cheered up and skipped off back into the restaurant to finish her shift. A couple of hours later Sophie had finished work, gone home and got changed and was now making her way to the Bistro. As soon as she walked through the door Paula caught her attention straight away. She happily walked over and joined them whilst Sally went to get a round in:

"Tough day at work?" Gina asked as Sophie sat down next to Paula at the table.

"Yeah, been pretty busy today" Sophie replied.

"Well at least you can relax and have a drink now" Paula said as she subtly ran her hand up and down Sophie's thigh, causing her to blush and take a sharp breath inwards.

"Everything okay?" Sally asked returning to the table with the drinks and noticing the look on Sophie's face.

"Yeah, couldn't be better" Sophie replied before taking a sip of her drink.

 Sally and Gina both failed to notice the lustful glances between Sophie and Paula as the four of them continued to drink, talk and laugh together.

"I'm just going to nip to the ladies" Paula said, giving Sophie a subtle look.

Sophie knew she had to make an excuse to leave the table so she could follow Paula into the toilets:

"I'm just going to go and talk to Kate" Sophie stated as she stood up and walked over to the bar, leaving Sally and Gina alone at the table.  
   
Sophie stood talking to Kate for a couple of minutes before excusing herself and heading to the toilets.

"Fancy seeing you in here" Sophie said as she walked over to Paula and kissed her.

"Sophie, stop, we can't" Paula said, putting some distance between herself and Sophie.

"Argh I've been waiting all night to get my hands on you" Sophie replied with a disappointed look on her face.

"Me too, you're driving me crazy dressed like that" Paula said, referring to the short, tight dress that Sophie had chosen to wear.

"We need to make an excuse to get out of here....but first I need a wee"

"That we do" Paula replied taking her phone out of her bag as Sophie went into one of the cubicals. 

"I thought you'd got lost" Sally said as she entered the bathroom.

"Sorry, I'm just waiting for a response from an important email to come through" Paula answered flicking thorough her phone.

"Is it my case?" Sally asked.

"No, it's a different case" 

"Oh right, I will leave you to it, don't be long though" Sally said as she walked towards the door. "Oh have you seen Sophie by any chance?" She added.

"I'm in here" Sophie shouted from the cubical.

"Well hurry up" Sally said before leaving the two of them alone once again.

Just as the door closed behind Sally, Sophie came out of the cubical and washed her hands before grabbing Paula's blouse and pushing her up against the wall:

"That's one way of getting rid of my Mum" Sophie said before kissing Paula passionately.

"Soph...."

"Shh" Sophie said kissing Paula again before she could finish her sentence.

Paula gave in and kissed Sophie back, their hands roaming all over each other.

"We really need to stop" Paula whispered, pulling away from Sophie.

"I know....I suppose we better get back then" Sophie sighed. "I will go first, you wait a couple of seconds and then come out" she added.

"Okay" Paula replied giving Sophie one last kiss before she left.

"Sorry about that" Paula said as she sat back down at the table beside Sophie.

"Is everything sorted now?" Sally asked.

"Yeah everything's good" Paula replied.

They all had another few drinks before Paula thought up of an excuse to leave:

I'm going to get going now, thank you for a lovely night though" Paula said.

"Awh do you have to go?" Sally asked.

"Yeah, I promised Isla that I would go into town with her in the morning, so I don't want to be too late home" Paula explained.

"Okay, well I will see you soon, thanks for coming" Sally replied.

"See you all soon, and thanks again for a lovely night" Paula said before she turned around and headed out of the door. 

As soon as she got outside she text Sophie:

'Wait 10 minutes then tell your Mum and Gina that your friend has asked you to meet up with her....I will wait for you round the corner xx'

Sophie smiled when she received  the text from Paula. She finished her drink and then told her Mum and Gina that she was off to meet her mate. Thankfully none of them suspected anything.

"Hey you" Paula said as Sophie walked up to her.

"Hi" Sophie replied as she gave Paula a kiss.

"How about we get a taxi back to mine?" Paula asked.

"Definately" Sophie said as she took her phone out of her pocket to call a taxi.

The two of them eventually got to Paula's house and headed straight upstairs to bed as quietly as they could so that they didn't wake Isla up. They then proceeded to have hours of amazing sex together before cuddling up and falling asleep in each other's arms.


	19. 19

A week had passed, Isla had started her journey of travelling around the world, Whilst Sophie and Paula enjoyed every moment they got to spend together. Today however was not a good day, it was the day before Sally's pre-trial and Sophie was really worried about it.  
Paula had gone to Sally's house to go through the statement once more and to try and reassure her. Sophie was also at her Mum's house, she was enjoying watching Paula do her job. After they had finished going through everything, Sally and Paula joined Sophie on the sofa to have a good old gossip, hoping that it would help keep Sally's mind off of tomorrow.   
The three of them were well into conversation, laughing and joking, just enjoying each other's company when there was a knock at the door. Sally got up and went to answer it:

"Is Sophie here?" Sian asked as Sally opened the door.

"She is, but we are kind of busy right now getting everything ready for the pre-trial tomorrow" 

"Oh well I want to talk to her" 

"Not right now Sian, sorry" Sally replied.

Sally knew Sophie didn't want anything to do with Sian, so tried to persuade her to leave which made Sian pretty angry. Sophie hadn't replied to her messages all week and had deliberately avoided her:

"She said she would try and be friends with me again, and she's completely ignored all of my message this week" Sian sated.

"I don't blame her....you completely broke her heart Sian, and you just left her there that day stood at the altar" Sally replied getting annoyed by Sian's presence.

"I've told her I'm sorry for doing that, and that I'd do anything to take it all back, but I can't. I made a big mistake, but I've changed now, I've grown up, and I want Sophie back in my life again....please Sally" Sian pleaded.

"I'm sorry Sian but no....you should of thought about all of that before you did what you did to her....to be honest I don't blame her for wanting nothing to do with you" Sally said harshly.

Hearing Sally say that Sophie wanted nothing to do with her made Sian furious, she actually believed that her and Sophie could be friends again. Sian wasn't having any of this and decided it was time that Sally knew the truth:

"Yeah well ask your precious daughter who she's been sleeping with, see if you stick up for her then" Sian said bitterly.

"Sophie's not even seeing anyone, so get your facts right Sian before coming round to my house and running your mouth off" Sally spat back.

"I think you'll find she is....I saw her kissing a woman the other day"

"What woman?" 

"I can't remember her name, but she has short brown hair with a fringe, and she's always dressed smartly. Infact I've definately seen her with you a few times" 

"Who Paula? Don't be silly she's my solicitor and my friend, plus she's the same age as me, so that's not true....I've had enough of your nonsense now, just go Sian" Sally said, not believing a word of what Sian had just said.

"Ahh, Paula, that's the one....your hot shot solicitor and your precious daughter are sleeping together....ask them if you don't believe me" Sian said smugly before turning around and walking away.

Sian didn't want to hurt Sophie again but she wanted her back, and as long as Paula was around that wasn't going to happen. She knew she had to break them apart and that's exactly why she told Sally. 

Sally walked back into the house with a confused look on her face. She looked over at Paula and Sophie who were sat talking to each other, before slowly making her way back over to join them:

"Mum is everything okay? Who was at the door?" Sophie asked gently, noticing the look on her Mum's face. 

"Sal?" Paula said after a few minutes of Sally not answering.

"It was Sian" Sally said quietly not looking at either of the two women. 

Sophie and Paula glanced at each other, both with worried looks on their faces, they knew exactly what was coming next. They shifted slightly in their seats before turning and looking back at Sally, who had her head down looking at her hands which rested on her lap.


	20. 20

"What did she want?" Sophie asked.

"She wanted to talk to you, but I said it wasn't a good time" Sally answered, still not looking up.

"Oh" 

"She told me she saw you kissing a woman the other day" 

"What, me? She must be seeing things" Sophie replied.

"She said it was an older woman with short brown hair with a fringe and she always dresses smartly....and she's seen her with me a couple of times....that sounds a little bit like you doesn't it Paula?" Sally stated, finally looking up at Sophie and Paula.

Paula didn't say anything, she just looked at Sally with a defeated look on her face.

"And you believe her? Don't be silly Mum, I mean Seriously she's deluded" Sophie finally answered.

"At first I didn't believe her, but looking back over the past few weeks and now seeing you both sat here together, Yes I believe her" Sally said getting angry at the two of them for not admitting it.

"Mum...." 

"Soph, I think it's time we told the truth now" Paula said, interrupting Sophie before she could finish what she was saying.

"So it is true then?" Sally asked.

"Yeah" Sophie answered, looking at Paula who nodded her head in response to Sally's question.

"How could you, she's my daughter, and you're the same age as me" Sally said angrily.

"Sally, I know this is a bit of a shock, and we didn't want you to find out like this but...." 

"But nothing Paula, you're supposed to be my solicitor, my friend, and now I find out that you're sleeping with my daughter!! It's disgusting" Sally shouted at Paula. 

"I am your friend Sal....but me and Sophie are not doing anything wrong, we care about each other, and the age difference doesn't matter to either of us" Paula explained.

"Mum please, just let us be happy together" Sophie pleaded.

"I can't, I'm not having it, she's twice your age Sophie, it's just wrong" Sally shouted.

"Whether you like it or not, me and Sophie are in a relationship, and I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon....I really like her and I care about her a lot, she makes me the happiest I've been in a long time, and I'm not going to apologise for that" Paula said calmly as she took Sophie's hand in her own.

Seeing the two of them holding hands and hearing what Paula had said infuriated Sally, and she raised her hand and smacked Paula across the cheek.

"MUM" Sophie shouted as her Mum hit her girlfriend who just stood there shocked at what Sally had just done.

"You're no friend of mine anymore, now get out of my house!! And you're sacked" Sally raged angrily.

"No Mum, you can't do that, you need Paula in court with you tomorrow" Sophie said.

"Do I? I know this case inside out, I'm going to be representing myself from now on....so don't bother showing up tomorrow" Sally said, directing it towards Paula.

"Sally that's not a good idea, please can we just sit down and talk about this" Paula said.

"There's nothing to talk about, I've made my decision, now leave" Sally replied.

"Mum please don't do this" Sophie pleaded once more.

"You can leave as well....and I don't want you there tomorrow either" Sally said harshly, still angry at both of them.

Sophie just sighed, she knew there was no point in trying to change Sally's mind. She was stubborn and once she had made a decision about something then there was no changing it. 

"Let's go" Sophie said as she walked over to the front door, Paula following behind her.


	21. 21

"I can't believe she just did that, are you okay?" Sophie asked Paula as they walked out onto the street.

"Yeah, I'll live" Paula replied giving Sophie a soft smile.

"Will you come back to mine for a bit?" Sophie asked.

"Of course I will" 

Once inside Sophie sat on the sofa and broke down in tears. Paula sat down beside her and just wrapped her arms around her for a little while.

"What if my Mum gets sent to prison tomorrow, she'd never cope in there" Sophie said quietly.

"It might not come to that"

"But if it does it will all be our fault....I can't do this, I want you to go" Sophie said, pulling away from Paula.

"Sophie, it wouldn't be our fault" 

"Yeah it would be, if we wasn't together then my Mum wouldn't of sacked you, and none of this would of happened" Sophie replied through her tears.

"Look, we are not to blame for this, your Mum didn't have to sack me....and ending things between us now is not going to change anything" 

"But she did though, and all because we're together, so how is it not our fault?....please just go Paula"

Paula knew that she wasn't going to change Sophie's mind about her leaving, so headed for the front door. Just as she was about to open it Kevin walked in:

"I thought the two of you would be here" Kevin said as he entered the house. 

"I'm just leaving" Paula said quietly trying to hold her tears back.

"Why are you leaving? I know what has happened" 

"Sophie told me to go, so I am" 

"No, you're staying" Kevin said. 

"I want her to go" Sophie said harshly.

"Nobody is going anywhere until we've spoken about this, so sit down Paula" Kevin said firmly.

Paula sat back down on the sofa near Sophie, leaving a little distance between them. Whilst Kevin sat on the chair opposite them both:

"So Sally has told me that the two of you are in a relationship" Kevin stated.

"Well we were" Sophie said, looking down at her lap.

"Were?" Kevin replied.

"Yeah, Mum sacked Paula and said she's going to represent herself tomorrow, which means she will probably end up going to prison....and it's all our fault" Sophie said with tears streaming down her face.

"How is it you fault? Your Mum didn't have to sack Paula" Kevin asked.

"Because if we wasn't in a relationship then none of this would of happpened" Sophie stated.

"Soph, what's done is done....breaking up with Paula now isn't going to change anything" Kevin replied.

"That's exactly what I said" Paula said quietly.

"I know....I'm sorry Paula, please don't leave me" Sophie said as she threw herself into Paula's arms crying

"I'm not going anywhere" Paula replied, wrapping her arms around Sophie.

Sophie managed to calm herself down a bit and let go of Paula. She turned and looked at her Dad:

"Why are you not flipping out about us?" 

"Because there is no point....you're an adult and you can make your own decisions, I have no right to tell you who you can and can't be in a relationship with....I just wish you would of told me" Kevin replied looking at both of them.

"It's not Sophie's fault, I asked her to keep us a secret until after the trial" Paula said.

"Well it didn't work out very well did it" Kevin replied.

"No it didn't and I'm sorry for that" Paula said.

"It's okay....but next time talk to me Sophie" Kevin said, looking at his daughter.

"I will, thanks Dad" Sophie replied, giving her Dad a hug.

Sophie excused herself and went upstairs to the bathroom to try and sort her makeup out that was now smudged all over her face. Kevin and Paula were still sat downstairs:

"Thank you for understanding" Paula said to Kevin. 

"To be honest I can't say I'm overly happy about it, but I've noticed how happy Sophie has been the last few weeks, and if that's all down to you then so be it....I just want her to be happy" Kevin stated.  

"I understand....I really do care about her you know" Paula said.

"I can see that you do....just please don't hurt her" 

"I won't, I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon"

"Good....umm do you want to stay over tonight? I mean Sophie's still really upset about Sally going to prison, and I'd rather her not be on her own tonight" Kevin explained.

"Are you sure?" Paula answered, shocked that Kevin had invited her to stay. 

"Yeah....if you want too that is" 

"I'd love to stay, thank you Kevin" Paula said giving him a small smile.

"Right, I'm going to go and get Jack from Tyrone's, I will be back soon" Kevin said as he slipped his jacket on and headed out of the door. 

It wasn't long after until Sophie came back downstairs and sat down on the sofa next to Paula:

"Where's my Dad?" Sophie asked. 

"He's gone to pick Jack up from Tyrone's" 

"Oh right....I'm really sorry about earlier, I was just upset and angry" Sophie explained, looking Paula in the eyes.

"I know you was, it's okay" Paula answered, giving Sophie a soft kiss.

"So, do you want to do something before you have to go home?" Sophie asked. 

"I'm not going home" 

"Oh, why not, where are you going?"

"I'm not going anywhere....your Dad asked me if I wanted to stay tonight so I said yes, well if you want me too that is" 

"Really? I'd love for you to stay" Sophie said, shocked that her Dad had suggested it.

The two of them decided to flick through the TV channels to find something to watch whilst they waited for Kevin and Jack to get home.


	22. 22

Whilst watching the TV Sophie was worried about introducing her girlfriend to Jack, what if he didn't like her? What would she do then? After all Jack was her number one priority. There was no escaping the awkward conversation now though, as Kevin and Jack returned to the house:

"Hey mate" Sophie smiled at Jack as he wheeled his wheelchair over so he was beside Sophie. Whilst Kevin took a seat on the chair opposite them.

"Hi, who's this?" Jack asked, looking at Paula.

"This is Paula, she's my girlfriend....I know this might be a little strange for you because she is a lot older than me" Sophie explained.

"Is this why you've been so happy lately?" Jack asked.

"Yeah it is" Sophie replied with a smile on her face.

"Then I like her already" Jack said with a massive smile on his face.

"Hello, it's finally nice to meet you, Sophie's told me all about you" Paula said, extending her arm to shake hands with Jack, which he happily accepted.

"It better of been nice things" Jack replied, glaring at his sister.

"It was all good, don't worry" Paula said.

"Can you play Fifa?" Jack asked Paula.

"I certainly can, do you want a game?" 

"Yes please, follow me" Jack said excitedly as he led Paula into his bedroom and loaded up Fifa.

Sophie went with them too, but she quickly felt left out as Paula and Jack got right into the game. Instead Sophie decided to go and make them all a drink, leaving Paula and Jack to it:

"Do you really like Sophie?" Jack asked pausing the game and looking at Paula.

"Yeah, I really do....your sister is amazing and I care about her very much" Paula replied, smiling at Jack.

"Good, but promise me something?" 

"What's that?" Paula asked.

"Don't hurt her and make her sad again, I don't like seeing Sophie sad" Jack said with a sad look on his face.

"Don't worry, I won't....I'm not going anywhere" Paula replied, giving Jack a reassuring smile. 

Jack smiled back at Paula before unpausing the game. He was happy that Sophie was happy and he liked Paula. Sophie returned to the bedroom with the drinks and happily watched the two of them finish their game:

"Right come on you, get ready for bed" Sophie said to Jack after they had finished their game.

"Awhh fine, will you ask Dad to come and help me?" Jack sighed, disappointed that it was nearly bedtime.

"Yeah I will" Sophie replied as her and Paula made their way back into the living room.

After Sophie had asked him, Kevin happily went into Jack's room to help him get ready for bed, leaving Sophie and Paula alone:

"You've got one amazing little brother, I can see how much he cares about you" Paula said, as her and Sophie sat down on the sofa.

"What did he say?" 

"He made me promise not to hurt you and make you sad again" Paula explained.  

"Aww bless him, he can be cute sometimes" Sophie laughed.  

"He's lovely, I think we're going to get on just fine" Paula smiled before giving Sophie a gentle kiss. 

Jack has something to say before he goes to bed, Kevin said as they both came back into the living room:

"What's up?" Sophie asked Jack.

"I just wanted to ask Paula when I can see her again? Jack said wheeling himself over to Paula.

"Well how about me, you and Sophie have a movie night and a takeaway on Saturday? If that's alright with your dad" Paula asked.

"That's fine with me" Kevin answered.

"Yeah I'd love that" Jack replied, giving Paula a big smile.

"Sounds good, now go and get some sleep you" Sophie said.

"Okay night Sophie, night Paula" Jack said as he gave them both a hug. 

"Night" Sophie and Paula both replied, as Kevin took Jack to help him into bed. 

Kevin, Sophie and Paula all sat down in the living room and began watching some crime documentary on the TV. After it was finished Sophie and Paula headed upstairs to get ready for bed. Once ready the two of them climbed into Sophie's bed and lay down facing each other:

"You alright?" Paula asked a now quiet Sophie.

"Just thinking about my Mum's trial tomorrow....she can't do it without you" Sophie said quietly.

"I will go and talk to her in the morning and see if I can change her mind" 

"Really? You'd do that, after what she said and did to you?" Sophie asked.

"Yeah of course, she's your Mum and my friend, I want nothing more than to help her Soph" Paula said, giving Sophie a small smile.

"Thank you" Sophie simply replied.

"No problem....try not to worry, and get some sleep" Paula said as she wrapped her arms around Sophie, pulling her closer to her and kissing her on her forehead.


	23. 23

It was 7am and Paula had just woken up, she looked over at Sophie finally sleeping soundly and smiled. Sophie had been tossing and turning all night from worrying about her Mum's trial and Paula had just kept on holding her throughout the night. Paula quietly got out of bed, put her joggers on and headed downstairs. Kevin was already up making Jack some breakfast before he went to school:

"Morning, Sophie still asleep?" Kevin asked Paula as she wondered into the kitchen for a glass of water.

"Morning, yeah she was tossing and turning all night so thought I'd leave her to sleep" 

"Thank you for staying with her last night" Kevin said, smiling at Paula.

"No problem, I'm going to go and get dressed and then go and see Sally, see if I can talk some sense into her" 

"Good luck with that, she's stubborn is Sally....feel free to use the shower or whatever if you want" Kevin said.

"She was the same all through high school....and thanks" Paula replied, laughing at Kevin's statement about Sally. 

Kevin gave Paula a small smile before she headed back upstairs for a shower and to get dressed. After she had finished in the shower, Paula went back into the bedroom to see that Sophie was awake:

"Morning" Paula said as she walked over to Sophie and gave her a quick kiss before continuing to get ready.

"Morning, why are you up so early?" Sophie asked, half asleep.

"I thought I'd go and see your Mum" 

"Oh, you don't have to" 

"I want to, I'm not giving up on her now" Paula said as she sat down on the edge of the bed to put her shoes on.

"Thank you" Sophie replied, giving Paula a smile. 

"I best get going then, I'll be back soon" Paula said, giving Sophie another kiss before leaving her alone again.

Whilst Paula was at Sally's, Sophie decided to get up, have a shower and get dressed before making her way downstairs:

"Morning Soph, you okay?" Kevin asked.

"Morning, yeah I will be, just worried about Mum" 

"I know....just remember that whatever happens today, it's not yours or Paula's fault" Kevin replied, walking over to Sophie and giving her a hug. 

"Do I have to go to school?" Jack asked as he wheeled himself into the living room, breaking their hug.

"Yes you do, now come on" Kevin said as he gathered up Jack's school bag.

"Bye mate, have a good day" Sophie said to her little brother.

"I'll try, bye Soph" Jack answered as him and Kevin left the house, leaving Sophie all alone.

Sophie didn't know what to do with herself, Paula had been gone quite a while and she was beginning to worry more. She decided to try and distract herself by reading a magazine that had been left on the table. After what seemed like forever, Paula returned and sat down on the sofa with Sophie:

"How did it go?" Sophie asked worriedly.

"If I'm honest, not great....she's still insisting that she's representing herself today, and doesn't want either of us at court" Paula said gently.

"Why is she so flaming stubborn!! Do you think I should go and try talking to her?" Sophie asked.

"I don't think it will make any difference, she's made up her mind and she's not budging....I tried my best Soph, I'm sorry" Paula said, pulling Sophie in for a hug.

"It's okay, thanks for trying" Sophie sighed as she snuggled closer into Paula.

"Why don't we go to the cafe and get something to eat?" Paula suggested.

"Yeah alright" Sophie replied, pulling away from Paula and standing up.

The two of them arrived at the cafe and ordered a coffee each before sitting down at one of the tables:

"What do you fancy to eat?" Paula asked.

"I'm not hungry" 

"Sophie, you need to eat something....how about I get us some toast?" Paula suggested.

"Fine" Sophie sighed as Paula walked over to the counter to get the toast.

After they had both finished eating, they started making their way back to Kevin's house. On the way they saw Sally, Tim and Gina leaving number 4, so Sophie decided to go over:

"I told you two to stay away" Sally spat as they stood in front of her.

"Mum, please don't be like that" Sophie said.

"Just go home Sophie, I don't want either of you here" 

"No, you can be mad at us later, but right now you need Paula's help, please Mum" Sophie pleaded. 

"I don't need anyone's help, I know this case inside out, I can do it myself" 

"Sally, please just let me help you" Paula said.

Sally just looked at them both before getting into the car:

"I think it's best if you both just stayed away for a while" Tim said angrily as he got into the car. "I'll let you know what happens" Gina said, smiling at them both before joining Sally and Tim in the car. 

As they drove off, tears started to fall down Sophie's face. Paula wrapped her arms around her, pulling her in close to her, not saying a word.

Eventually Sophie and Paula decided to head back to Kevin's house. Kevin was at work so they both just snuggled up on the sofa watching TV, waiting to hear the verdict of Sally's pre-trial from Gina.


	24. 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of update's recently, had a few personal issues to deal with....is there anything anyone would like to see happen between Sophie and Paula in future chapters?

About 2 hours had passed and Sophie was getting worried:

"Shouldn't we of heard something by now,? They've been gone ages" Sophie asked Paula.

"Sometimes court cases over run, so they might have gone in late. I'm sure Gina will let you know as soon as it's over with though" Paula replied, taking hold of Sophie's hand.

"I guess" Sophie answered, giving Paula a small smile.

Sophie didn't have to wait much longer though as her phone rang, it was Gina.

"Gina, what happened?" Sophie asked. 

"It's not good news I'm afraid, your Mum has been sent down" Gina replied with a sad tone to her voice.

"No, please tell me that's not true" Sophie said quietly as tears began to fall from her eyes. Paula knew instantly what had happened, she grabbed hold of Sophie's hand and gently caressed it in her own.

"I'm sorry Sophie....I have to go now, I will see you later" 

"Okay, bye" Sophie said. She threw the phone onto the sofa and practically leapt into Paula's arms.

"I'm sorry love" is all Paula could say as she held on tightly to Sophie who was now in a complete state.

"You have to help her, please" Sophie said after a while, looking up at Paula.

"I can only help her if she reinstates me as her solicitor Soph" 

"Then I will go and see her, and make her reinstate you....I just want her to be home again" Sophie sobbed.

"As soon as she makes that call to reinstate me, then I'm all over it, I promise" Paula replied, pulling Sophie closer into her again.

Sophie cried into Paula's shoulder for a little while, she knew her Mum wouldn't be able to cope in prison, and that scared her. Kevin eventually returned home from work and knew instantly from the emotional state that Sophie was in, that Sally had been sent down.

"Mum's in prison" Sophie cried again as her dad sat down in the chair opposite her and Paula.

"She will be okay Sophie, she's strong....maybe you could go and see her" Kevin replied, reaching over and placing his hand on Sophie's shoulder to try and comfort her.

"I'm going to see if I can go tomorrow, she needs to reinstate Paula so she can help her" 

"Well hopefully she will realise how stupid she's been and let Paula help her" Kevin replied.

"I hope so....I'll be back in a minute" Sophie said as she let go of Paula and headed upstairs.

"I'm sorry Kevin" Paula said genuinely.

"It's not your fault, Sally is bloody stubborn, there was no way you could of changed anything....but promise me one thing, please just make sure Sophie is okay, she doesn't seem to have taken it so well" Kevin explained.

"I will look after her, I promise....infact I don't really want to leave her tonight, so do you mind if I take her to mine with me?" Paula asked.

"Why don't you stay here tonight, I mean she's probably already gone and shut herself in her room" Kevin replied giving Paula a smile.

"Yeah alright, thank you....should I go and check on her?" 

"Yes go ahead" Kevin nodded.

Once upstairs Paula knocked on Sophie's bedroom door and waited for a response.

"Just leave me alone" Sophie shouted through the door.

"Please Sophie, let me come in, I need to know you're okay" Paula shouted back.

"Well no I'm not okay, so just go and leave me alone" 

"Just let me be there for you, please" Paula pleaded.

"NO, just go home, I want to be on my own" 

"Fine, I will leave you to it then" Paula sighed as she turned and headed back downstairs to Kevin.

"She won't even let me in" Paula said as she sat back down on the sofa.

"Just give her a little while to calm herself down" Kevin replied.

"Yeah I will....I'll nip home now then and get some clean clothes for tomorrow if that's alright" 

"Yeah course, I'll see you soon" Kevin said as Paula stood up and headed for the door.

Paula arrived home and decided to have a quick shower before shoving some clothes into an overnight bag and making her way back to Sophie. As she drove back through the streets, Paula thought about the whole situation, and couldn't help but blame herself for Sally being in prison. If only she could of kept away from Sophie then she would still be Sally's solicitor and none of this would of happened. As she pulled up outside of the house, she knew she had to pull herself together for Sophie's sake. Although she didn't regret any of it she couldn't let Sophie see how much she blamed herself and their relationship for what had happened to Sally. Once she had got herself together, she took a deep breath and got out of the car and headed back inside the house.


	25. 25

"Any sign of Sophie yet?" Paula asked Kevin as she walked through the door.

"No, not yet....we should leave her for a bit longer though, she doesn't really like anyone seeing her upset" Kevin explained.

"I suppose, I just feel like it's all my fault" Paula sighed as she sat down on the sofa.

"Why would you say that?" 

"Because, if I had just kept my distance from Sophie, then none of this would of happened and Sally wouldn't be in prison" Paula said, tears rolling down her face.

"This isn't your fault Paula, Sally should never of sacked you in the first place....And if you had kept your distance then Sophie would still be the same unhappy woman that she had been since the whole situation with Kate" Kevin explained.

"I know, but I just can't help but blame myself....I betrayed Sally's trust in me and I don't know if she will ever forgive me for that" 

"Sally will just have to learn to accept that you and Sophie are in a relationship and that you're both happy with each other....at the end of the day happiness is all that matters" Kevin said as he sat down next to Paula and gave her hug, seeing how upset she was.

"You're right, and I don't regret anything that's happened with Sophie for one second....I just hope that Sally can eventually accept us, because I'd hate to come between her and Sophie" 

"I'm sure she will come round eventually, and I will talk to her about it when she is back home" Kevin said.

"Thank you" 

"No problem" Kevin replied as he returned back to his own chair and flicked the TV on. Just as he did Paula received a text from Sophie:

'Can you come up to my room please xx' 

"Sophie's just text me and asked me to go up to her room" Paula said to Kevin with a look of relief on her face.

"Go on up to her, make sure she's alright" Kevin smiled at Paula.

Paula made her way upstairs and knocked on Sophie's bedroom door before walking inside. Sophie was sat on her bed with her knees pulled up to her chest and her head resting on them. Paula walked over and sat down on the bed next to her, taking her hand in her own, making Sophie look up at her.

"Soph...." 

"I'm sorry" Sophie said before Paula could say another word.

"You've nothing to be sorry for" Paula replied, giving Sophie a small smile.

Sophie didn't say anything else, she just looked into Paula's eyes for a few moments before lunging towards her and kissing her forcefully. Paula tried to pull away, but Sophie pushed her backwards onto the bed and layed on top of her, not breaking the kiss.

"Sophie stop" Paula said firmly, grabbing hold of Sophie's hands, causing her to stop and look her in the eyes. Sophie had a worried look on her face as she jumped off of Paula, letting her sit up again.

"I'm sorry" was all Sophie could say as she broke down into tears. 

"It's okay" Paula reassured her as she wrapped her arms tightly around Sophie, pulling her into her as closely as she could.

Paula held onto Sophie not saying a word, until she had calmed down and pulled away from her embrace. They both sat in silence until Paula decided to say something:

"I'm going to do everything I can to help your Mum, if she will let me, I promise" Paula said as she took Sophie's hand once more.

"I know, thanks....I'm really sorry about what just happened and for pushing you away earlier, I don't know what to do, I'm scared" Sophie explained. 

"You don't need to apologise, I understand....I'm always here for you" Paula replied, pulling Sophie in for a hug.

"You're the best" Sophie said quietly into Paula's shoulder.  

"How about we go downstairs, get a chippy tea and stick a film on?" Paula asked, breaking the hug to look at Sophie.

"Sounds perfect" Sophie replied, before Paula leaned in and gave her a soft kiss.


	26. 26

The next day arrived and Paula had gotten up early so that she could phone the prison to see if Sophie could visit her Mum. Sophie was still fast asleep, so Paula went downstairs to make her some toast. As she arrived back upstairs with the toast, she found Sophie was awake and gave her a little smile whilst getting back into bed next to her:

"Morning you, I made us toast" Paula said as she gave Sophie a quick kiss.

"Morning, thank you, I'm starving" 

"You're welcome....so I've been on the phone to the prison this morning, they said you can go and see your Mum at 2pm today" 

"Thank you, I don't know what I'd do without you" Sophie replied.

"Same....now you just have to try and make her see sense"

"I will do my best" Sophie said, giving Paula a small smile.

A while had passed and Sophie was almost ready to go and see her Mum in the prison. Paula had told Sophie that she would drive her there and wait in the car outside, as she didn't think Sally would appreciate them going in together. As soon as they both stepped outside of the front door they saw Sian walking towards the corner shop:

"Thanks for everything" Sophie shouted sarcastically as she walked towards Sian.

"I'm sorry Sophie, but your Mum deserved to know what a backstabbing bitch her so called friend and solicitor was to her" Sian shouted back.

"Don't you dare call her that, Paula has been nothing but amazing these past few weeks....infact she's the best thing that's ever happened to me" Sophie spat back.

"Yeah, well we'll see how amazing she is when she bins you off, when she realises how immature you really are" Sian snarled, making Sophie extremely angry.

"Soph leave it, she's not worth it" Paula said, noticing how angry Sophie had become. 

Sophie didn't listen to Paula however, and proceeded to punch Sian in the face causing her to stumble backwards and her nose to bleed:

"Not so mouthy now are you eh....just leave Sian, nobody wants you here" Sophie spat as Paula grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away from the situation.

"What the hell Sophie" Paula said, once they were both sat in the car.

"She deserved it" 

"Yeah she did, but she's just trying to get to you and you played right into her hands" Paula explained, with an annoyed look on her face.

"What so you're going to be pissy with me now?" 

"No, I just don't think you should of done that, that's all" 

"Whatever, now can we please just go" Sophie replied.

They arrived at the prison and Sophie walked into the visitors room. She took a seat at an empty table and waited nervously for her Mum to come out:

"Sophie, am I glad to see you" Sally said as she approached Sophie and gave her a hug.

"No touching" one of the prison guards warned, breaking the hug.

"What happened to your face?" Sophie asked as they both sat down opposite each other. Sophie could see that Sally's face was badly bruised.

"Just one of the other inmates trying to intimidate me, don't worry about it, I will be fine" Sally said, trying to reassure Sophie.

"It's clearly not fine is it" Sophie stated.

"Just leave it, please" 

"Fine....I know you're not particularly happy with Paula right now, but you need her help Mum and she's willing to give it to you" Sophie explained.

"Really? She wants to help me, after I smacked her?" Sally asked.

"Yes she does, she just needs you to call her and reinstate her and then she will do everything she can to try and get you out of here, please just give her a chance Mum" Sophie pleaded.

"Okay, I will give her a call later on....tell her thanks and that I'm sorry for smacking her" 

"I will do, you're doing the right thing" Sophie smiled at her Mum.

"This doesn't mean that I am alright with the two of you because I'm not....but right now everything else can wait because I really need her help" Sally explained.

"I know, I'm sorry Mum" 

The two of them chatted about general day to day life and what was going on on the street back home, before it was time for Sophie to leave. Once Sophie had made her way back outside to Paula, she got into the car and began to cry:

"What happened?" Paula asked.

"She's been beaten up pretty badly, she's a mess, she can't cope in there" Sophie sobbed as Paula wrapped her arms around her.

"I'm sorry" Paula whispered as Sophie nuzzled her head into her shoulder.

"She's going to call you later....she's finally realised that she needs your help" Sophie said as she looked up at Paula.

"That's good, as soon as she does, I will be all over it, I promise you" 

"I know, you're amazing" Sophie replied as she leaned in and gave Paula a long gentle kiss.


	27. 27

Paula had decided that she would take Sophie out after the prison visit, to try and cheer her up a bit. So here they both were, sat in a lovely quiet country pub having something to eat:

"This tastes amazing" Sophie said as she took another mouthful of her lasagne.

"Let me try some?" Paula asked.

Sophie scooped up some more lasagne onto her fork and fed it to Paula.

"I've always wanted to do that" 

"Do what? And you're right it is pretty good" 

"Feed someone romantically, like they do in the films" Sophie said.

"Well now you have" Paula smiled, just as her phone began to ring.

Paula answered it, and Sophie patiently sat waiting for her to finish the phone call:

"That was your Mum, she's reinstated me" Paula said as she put her phone back into her bag.

"Oh thank god"

"So me and my team will be straight back onto it tomorrow....I'm going to do my very best to get her out Sophie" 

"Thank you....I really am lucky to have you" Sophie said smiling at Paula.

"No I'm the lucky one, you really have changed my life" 

"How so?" Sophie questioned.

"Well before I met you all I pretty much did was work, I didn't really have much of a social life....to be honest I wasn't really happy, I hadn't been for a long time, and then you came along and changed everything, and now I couldn't be happier" Paula explained.

"Really? I don't believe that that could be because of me, I mean I'm nothing special" 

"Believe me it's true, and you are very special, you mean so much to me Sophie, I couldn't imagine my life without you in it now" 

"You mean so much to me too, and I definately couldn't be without you now" Sophie smiled as she took hold of Paula's hands across the table.

Paula wanted so much to tell Sophie that she loved her in that moment, but she didn't want to scare her away, so she kept quiet. Paula didn't think she could fall in love with someone after just a few weeks of being together, but she did, and the more time she spent with Sophie the harder she fell for her.

"Paula?" Sophie said, breaking Paula out of her little bubble she was in.

"Sorry I was miles away....I'm glad you feel the same way Soph....do you want some dessert?" Paula asked, trying to change the subject from feelings.

"I'd love some....should we get a big slice of chocolate cake to share?"

"Yeah sounds good" Paula answered as she made her way over to the bar to order it.

They didn't have to wait long before the waiter came over with the chocolate cake and two spoons. Both of them demolished the cake and sat back in their chairs, feeling too full to move:

"That was absolutely amazing, but I'm stuffed now" Sophie said, rubbing her stomach.

"Me too" 

"Thank you for today" Sophie smiled at Paula.

"No problem....you're definately staying at mine tonight though, I want some alone time with you" Paula said, winking at Sophie.

"Oh do you now, to do what exactly?" Sophie answered seductively.

"Wouldn't you like to know"

"I would actually yeah" 

"Tough, you will have to wait and see" 

"Well what are we waiting for, let's go" Sophie said, standing up and holding her hand out for Paula to take.

As soon as the two of them got into the car, Paula grabbed hold of Sophie's t-shirt and pulled her towards her and kissed her passionately. Sophie was a little shocked at Paula's forwardness, she was never usually like this whilst in a public place.

"What's got into you?" Sophie asked, pulling slightly away from Paula.

"Nothing, can't I give my girlfriend a kiss" Paula replied as she crashed her lips into Sophie's again.

"You can, but if you keep kissing me like this then I'm not going to be able to stop myself from ripping your clothes off" Sophie said as she tried to get her breath back.

"Well I suppose I better get you back to my house then, quickly" Paula breathed  as she dragged herself away from Sophie and started the car.

"The quicker the better" Sophie said, as they pulled out of the car park and made their way to Paula's house.


	28. 28

As soon as the two of them got into the house Paula quickly closed the front door behind them and pushed Sophie up against the door and started to kiss her passionately. She moved down to Sophie's neck, kissing and nibbling it causing Sophie to throw her head back against the door to give her more access. Sophie had never known Paula to be this forward with her, but she was definitely not complaining:

"Babe you're going to mark me" Sophie breathed heavily into Paula's ear as she continued to nibble at her neck.

"Right now I don't care" Paula replied looking up at Sophie for a second, before grabbing hold of her hand and dragging her into the living room and pushing her down onto the sofa so she could lay on top of her"

"Seriously what has got into you today?" Sophie asked.

"I just want you" Paula replied, looking deep in to Sophie's eyes before smothering her in kisses again.

"Well I'm not complaining" Sophie gasped as Paula suddenly slipped two fingers inside of her.

"Mmmm Paula" Sophie moaned as Paula thrusted her fingers deeper inside her.

Paula carried on pleasuring Sophie until she come undone around her fingers. Then it was Sophie's turn to pleasure Paula, which she did quite incredibly. So much so that by the end of it Paula was completely kanckered and out of breath: 

"That was immense" Paula said breathlessly as Sophie removed her fingers from inside of her.

"It definitely was" Sophie agreed as she climbed off of Paula and pulled her up so she was sitting, she then sat down next to her on the sofa.

The two of them decided to cuddle up and watch TV for a while. Paula couldn't help but smile as she looked down at Sophie snuggled into her chest. She thought about just how much she did really love her. Yeah Sophie was a lot younger than herself, and they probably would face some difficult times together, but to Paula, Sophie was worth it, and she loved her nontheless.

The next day came and Paula was up getting ready to go to work:

"Morning, what time is it" Sophie said sleepily.

"Morning love, it's just gone 7" Paula replied as she walked over to the bed and leant down to give Sophie a gentle kiss.

"You should of woke me up" 

"You looked so peaceful, I didn't want to disturb you" Paula smiled before putting on her shoes.

"Hmm, well I suppose I better get up and ready too" 

"There's no rush, I'm the boss remember, I can go in when I want" 

"You can, but I can't, I've got work at 8" Sophie sighed as she began getting ready.

"Well you best get a shuffle on then" Paula chuckled.

After the two of them were ready, Paula dropped Sophie off at the restaurant before heading to the office.

"Morning, nice to see you in today, been having too much fun with Sophie have you?" Ezra said sarcastically.

"Morning, where is everyone?" Paula asked, completely ignoring Ezra's comment.

"They're either in meetings or at court....everything okay?" Ezra asked. He knew something was bothering her because she would normally answer his sarcastic comments, but this time she didn't.

"Err yeah why wouldn't it be" Paula simply said.

"Something is bothering you....is it Sophie?" 

"Actually it is, and I have no clue what to do" Paula answered, as she sat down on the chair opposite Ezra. 

"Oh no, what's happened?" 

"Nothing yet....I want to tell her I love her, but I don't know if she feels the same way, and I don't want to freak her out. I mean we haven't been together that long" Paula explained.

"Wow, well what's the worst that could happen if you do tell her? I mean she might not be ready to say it back, but I'm sure it won't jeopardise what the two of you have right now" 

"I suppose, but I'm just scared....I haven't felt like this about anyone for such a long time, and I don't want to mess this up" 

"I say you should just go for it, be honest with her and tell her how you feel....I'm sure everything will turn out fine in the end" Ezra said.

"You know what you're right, I need to tell her, and it needs to be today....thank you Ezra" Paula replied, smiling at him before walking into her office to crack on with Sally's case.


	29. 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of updates, I've not been feeling too well....but here's the next part.

Paula was sitting at her desk trying to concentrate on Sally's case. That was failing however, because she just couldn't stop thinking about how to tell Sophie that she loved her. After sitting there for what seemed like forever she eventually got up and headed out of her office to go and see Ezra:

"I'm going to head off, I've got some planning to do" Paula said with a big grin on her face.

"Is it anything to do with what you're going to tell Sophie?"

"Yes....do you mind chasing up Sally's case for me today?"

"Sure no problem....have fun, and good luck" Ezra smiled as Paula practically skipped out of the building.

Paula had decided that she would book a lavish restaurant for her and Sophie tonight, followed by a romantic walk down the river nearby. Now she just had to make sure that Sophie could make it:

'Hi, don't suppose you fancy going out for something to eat tonight do you? Xx' 

She didn't have to wait long for a reply:

'Umm yeah okay, where are you thinking? Xx' 

'That's a surprise ;) I'll pick you up at 7? Xx'

'7 is good, but how do I know what to wear if you won't tell me where we are going? Xx'

'Just wear whatever you feel comfortable in....I'll see you soon xx' 

Paula smiled to herself as she put her phone back into her bag and headed off home to find something to wear. Back over in Weatherfield, Sophie was finishing off her shift with a massive smile on her face, which didn't go unnoticed by Yasmeen:

"You seem very happy about something" Yasmeen stated.

"Paula's taking me out for something to eat tonight....but she won't tell me where though so I have no clue what to wear"

"Hmm how about wearing that red dress you wore to your friend's party? I'm sure that would be fine wherever you end up going" Yasmeen suggested.

"Yeah I could do, plus Paula's never seen me in that dress....thanks Yasmeen" 

"No problem....now go and get yourself ready for your woman" 

"I've got half an hour left yet" 

"Well we're pretty quiet, I'm sure we can cope without you, now go" 

"I will make the time up, thank you" Sophie said gratefully.

"Have fun" Yasmeen shouted as Sophie practically ran up the stairs and out of the restaurant.

Back over at Paula's house, Paula was rummaging through her clothes trying to find something to wear. She had already tried on 3 different outfits before finally settling on a nice dark blue knee length dress and some high heels. After doing her makeup and checking herself out in the mirror, she was finally ready to go. 

Paula arrived outside of Sophie's house and phoned her to let her know that she was here. As soon as Sophie stepped outside Paula was blown away by what she was wearing.

"Hey babe, how come you've got a taxi?" Sophie asked as she sat down in the taxi next to Paula.

"I thought I'd have a drink with you tonight....by the way you look absolutely gorgeous in that dress" Paula said, taking hold of Sophie's hand.

"You're looking pretty sexy yourself" Sophie stated, biting her lip whilst looking Paula up and down.

"Good day at work?" Paula asked, making small talk.

"It was alright....will you tell me where we are going now?" 

"Nope, you'll just have to wait and see" 

The taxi eventually pulled up outside of the restaurant, Paula paid the driver and her and Sophie got out:

"Are we eating here?" Sophie asked quietly.

"Yes we are, why?" 

"Paula, it's one of the most expensive and poshest restaurants in Manchester....I don't even think I could afford a starter never mind a main" 

"Well you don't have to worry about that, this is my treat....come on let's get inside" Paula said laughing, before giving Sophie a quick kiss and heading inside, hand in hand.


	30. 30

"Wow this place is amazing" Sophie stated, taking in her surroundings as they entered the restaurant.

"It's not so bad" Paula smiled as one of the hosts of the restaurant approached them.

"Welcome, can I take your booking name please" the host asked.

"Paula Martin"

"Ahh Martin, there you are....can I take your jackets?" He asked after he had booked them in.

"Yes, thank you" Paula replied, handing him her jacket, and Sophie following suit.

"Hi, I'm Adam your waiter for the evening, if you'd like to follow me I will show you to your table" the waiter smiled as he led them both to their table.

Paula had booked them a table in a quiet corner of the restaurant where it was more private. The table was quite romantic, with flowers and candles all set out.

"Would you like a drink?" Adam asked them both.

"Umm can we have the best bottle of white wine that you have please" Paula said.

"Of course" the waiter smiled, before going to get their order.

"So I've never been to a place like this before" Sophie said, still stunned at the restaurant they were in.

"Well now you have....pick whatever you want off the menu" Paula said as she handed Sophie a menu before flicking through one herself.

"They are all so expensive" Sophie stated with her mouth open in shock.

"But they're worth it though....I think I'm going to have the steak with chips and a salad" 

"That sounds really good, but I think I will have the lamb in mint sauce with some chips and lots of mayonnaise" Sophie said licking her lips.

"Good choice" Paula replied laughing as the waiter came back over with their drinks.

"Thank you" Sophie said as Adam poured them both some wine.

"Are you ready to order?" Adam asked.

"Can we have the steak and chips with a salad, and also the lamb in mint sauce with chips and mayonnaise please" Paula ordered.

"No problem, I'll be back soon" the waiter smiled as he once again went to get their order.

"So why did you choose this place then?" Sophie asked.

"Well I've been once before and it was incredible, so I thought you might like it too, plus I wanted to treat you" Paula answered.

"How on earth am I ever going to top this, I can hardly afford anything on this menu" Sophie said, ducking her head down slightly.

"You don't have to, I'd be happy anywhere as long as I'm with you" Paula said reassuringly, making Sophie look up at her.

"Well that was a little bit cute and cheesy" Sophie said teasingly.

"Oh shush you" Paula answered back laughing.

It wasn't long before the waiter returned with their food and the two of them tucked in. They both chatted and laughed whilst they ate, feeling completely comfortable and at ease in each other's company.

"I am stuffed" Sophie stated as she sat back on her chair, rubbing her stomach.

"No room for dessert then?" Paula said as she also sat back in her chair.

"Are you kidding me, there's always room for dessert" Sophie chuckled.

"Should we share one?" Paula asked.

"Hmm go on then, but only if we can have chocolate fudge cake" 

"Chocolate fudge cake it is" Paula said.

"Would you like me to take these plates away?" The waiter asked as he came back over to their table, noticing that they had both finished.

"Yes please, and thanks to the chef, it was wonderful" Paula smiled.

"Can we order dessert please?" Sophie asked eagerly. 

"Of course, what would you like?" 

"Can we have one chocolate fudge cake with two spoons please" Sophie said.

"Sure, I'll go and get that sorted for you" the waiter replied, turning and walking away again.

Whilst waiting for their dessert Sophie decided that it would be fun to wind Paula up a little bit. She proceeded to rub her foot up and down Paula's leg, causing her to glare at her.

"What are you doing?" Paula asked quietly.

"Nothing, just thinking" Sophie said mischievously.

"Oh yeah about what?"

"How incredibly hot you look, and that I want to touch you right now" Sophie said seductively, reaching across under the table and running her hand up Paula's thigh, causing her to gasp.

"Soph stop, you can't do this right now" 

"Why not?"

 

"Because I'm already struggling not to just rip your clothes off right this second"

"Hmm as soon as we have finished this dessert we are going straight back to yours" Sophie said quietly, leaning in closer to Paula.

"No we're not" Paula replied, brushing Sophie's hand away and sitting back in her chair.

"What, why not?" 

"Because I have something else planned for afterwards" 

"What's that?" Sophie asked.

"Just wait and see" Paula answered as the waiter returned to the table with their dessert.

The two of them demolished every last bit of the chocolate fudge cake, leaving them both so full that they could hardly move for a little while. 

"Are you ready to go?" Paula eventually asked as she finished off her glass of wine.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see what you have planned next" Sophie said excitedly.

Paula sorted the bill out, and they both thanked the waiter, leaving him a generous tip, before getting their coats from the host and heading outside into the crisp autumn air.


	31. 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know this is a very short chapter....i didn't really know how else I could write it tbh, my minds gone blank....the next one will probably be a bit longer though!! That's if anyone wants me to carry on?

"Seriously Paula where are we going?" Sophie asked as Paula began to lead her to the river, holding her hand firmly.

"You will see soon, it's not much further now" 

"Well it better be worth it, these heels are killing me" Sophie complained as they rounded the corner and arrived at the river.

"We're here" Paula stated.

"The river, really?" Sophie questioned.

"Yes, walk with me?" Paula asked, giving Sophie a little tug.

Sophie groaned a little bit but went along with Paula anyway. It turned out that it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be, in fact it was quite nice having Paula all to herself in public without any interruptions. They carried on walking down the river for a little bit until Sophie stopped:

"This is actually quite nice and romantic" Sophie said as she pulled Paula close to her, giving her a long gentle kiss.

"It is isn't it....sit with me?" Paula asked pulling out of Sophie's embrace and taking a seat on the bench behind them. Sophie happily went and sat next to her.

"I actually brought you here because I wanted to tell you something" Paula said quietly. 

"Tell me what?" Sophie asked, as Paula took her hand in her own.

"So I told you before how much you have changed my life, and how happy you make me, well I just want to add to that....The more time I get to spend with you and the more I get to know you, the more you captivate me and pull me in. You're a beautiful, kind and amazing young woman and I honestly can't see my future without you in it....I love you Sophie Webster" Paula stated, looking directly into Sophie's eyes.

"Paula....I....I can't, I'm sorry" Sophie stuttered as she quickly got up off the bench and ran away, as quickly as her heels would let her. 

"Sophie!!" Paula shouted after her, tears now beginning to fall down her face.

Sophie ignored Paula and carried on running with tears streaming down her face. Paula tried her best to catch up with her but it was too late, Sophie had already disappeared out of sight. Paula didn't know what to do, she didn't quite expect Sophie to react this way. She decided to try and call her mobile but she didn't answer, so instead she sent her a text:

'Sophie, I'm sorry if you wasn't ready to hear that, but I had to tell you. Please come back, we can talk about it xx' 

Sophie eventually slowed down as she was struggling to catch her breath. She decided to get a taxi back home. Just as she got into the taxi her phone bleeped, she read the message from Paula but she didn't reply. How could she? She didn't know what to say, she had just ran away from the woman who loves her. She eventually arrived back in Weatherfield and headed straight to the person who would know what to do, Yasmeen. 

Meanwhile Paula was still at the river waiting for a reply from Sophie. It had been over 15 minutes since she sent the message, and she still hadn't replied. She sighed before deciding to head home in a taxi. Paula was devastated, this was supposed to be a happy moment, but it wasn't, Sophie had ran off and she didn't know why.


	32. 32

"Sophie, what's wrong? I thought you was on a date with Paula?" Yasmeen asked as she opened the door and noticed how upset Sophie was.

"I was...." 

"Come on in and tell me what's happened" Yasmeen kindly offered. Sophie accepted the invitation and made her way over to sit on the sofa.

"I ran away from Paula" Sophie quietly said.

"How come?"

"Well we had a nice meal in a really posh restaurant. Then we went for a romantic walk by the river....and then she told me that she loves me, and I just ran away" 

"Don't you love her?" Yasmeen asked, placing her hand on Sophie's shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"Yeah of course I do....I'm just scared of getting hurt again" 

"I know it's scary not knowing what's going to happen in the future, but honestly I can see how much Paula cares about you, and I don't think she would of said it if she didn't mean it" 

"I've made a massive mistake haven't I, I should never of ran off" Sophie stated.

"But it's not too late to change it" 

"You're right, I need to go and tell her how I really feel" 

"I'll drive you" 

"Thank you Yasmeen" Sophie said.

Paula had now returned home and was sat on the sofa with a bottle of wine. She was worried about Sophie, she didn't have a clue where she was or if she was alright. She felt so stupid for saying those three words so early on in their relationship, but she couldn't keep how she really felt to herself anymore, it was driving her crazy. It had been well over an hour ago since Sophie had ran off, and Paula was beginning to give up hope of her contacting her for the rest of the night. She sighed and poured herself another glass of wine. Just as she finished pouring it, there was a knock at the door:

"Sophie" Paula said relieved, as she opened the front door and saw Sophie standing there.

"I'm sorry, can we talk" 

"Yeah, come in" 

Sophie walked in and followed Paula over to the sofa and sat down next to her, turning slightly so she was facing her. They both sat in an awkward silence for a couple of minutes before Paula decided to speak:

"I'm sorry if what I said wasn't what you wanted to hear, but I couldn't keep it to myself anymore, I had to tell you Sophie" 

"It's not that I didn't want to hear it, it's just that I'm scared" Sophie admitted

"Scared of what?"

"I'm scared of getting hurt again....in past relationships after those words have been said, it all goes wrong, and I end up alone and broken all over again....and I don't want that with you, I don't want what we have to end, and I don't want to lose you....I can't lose you" Sophie explained as tears rolled down her face.

"Sophie, I have no intentions of going anywhere, and I definitely don't intend to hurt you....I meant every word I said earlier, I want you, all of you....I'm completely falling head over heels in love with you....and that scares me, it scares me because I don't know what's going to happen in the future, but sometimes we have to take risks, and to me you're worth that risk."

"Do you really mean that?" 

"Of course I do....I don't know what I'd do without you now" Paula stated, taking Sophie's hand in her own.

Sophie looked down at their hands entwined, taking in everything that Paula had just said. She took a deep breath before lifting her head back up and gazing deeply into Paula's eyes:

"I love you Paula Martin" Sophie stated.

"Soph you don't have to say it if you don't want to....I know it's too early in the relationship, and I understand"

"I said it because I wanted to, and because I mean it....you've changed my life too, so much....and I'm sorry for running away earlier, I promise I won't do it again" Sophie said.

Paula didn't say anything, she just looked deeply into Sophie's eyes before leaning in and kissing her gently but passionately. The kiss was intense and both women could feel the love and passion they had for each other radiating throughout their whole body.


	33. 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the lack of updates, I've had major writers block and tbh I'm not really sure where to go with this story now.... Should I end it here? Or is there anything specific that you would like me to write about? I'm open to all suggestions....thank you :)

The kiss started to heat up, and Paula softly moaned into Sophie's mouth as the younger woman began to slowly run one of her hands up Paula's dress.

"I want you" Sophie moaned quietly.

"Should we take this upstairs?" Paula asked, pulling slightly away from Sophie.

"Definitely" 

The two of them raced upstairs and wasted no time at all in taking each other's clothes off before crashing down into bed together. Sophie decided to take the lead and shuffled so she was on top of Paula. She kissed and nibbled at Paula's neck, before slowly making her way down to her breasts. Taking one of her nipples into her mouth, she bit down gently and then caressed it with her tongue, causing Paula to let out a small moan. She gave her other breast the same attention before making her way down to Paula's sex. Sophie teased Paula with her tongue, avoiding the place that she wanted her most:

"Soph please" Paula moaned.

With that Sophie plunged her tongue into Paula causing her to moan loudly. Sophie then decided to swap her tongue for her fingers, and made her way back up to kiss Paula passionately. However Sophie was surprised when Paula unexpectedly slipped two fingers inside of her:

"Oh God, Paula" Sophie moaned loudly, which made Paula grin.

The two of them had never pleasured each other at the same time before, but my god they were both enjoying it. They would usually be quite rough and ready with each other compared to how they were being now, but not this time, this time was different, it was passionate but sensual, gentle and loving and just different. And they both completely felt the emotion and love that was radiating throughout them.

"Wow that was amazing" Sophie gasped as she rolled off of Paula and flopped back down onto the bed.

"Mmmm it was, come here you" Paula said as she pulled Sophie close to her, giving her a gentle kiss.

"I love you" Sophie whispered.

"I love you too Soph" 

Both women lay silently in bed snuggled up to each other before falling into a peaceful, happy sleep.

"Morning beautiful" Paula whispered as Sophie began to slowly wake up.

"Morning babe" Sophie groaned, burying her head into Paula's chest.

"Soph, look at me" 

Sophie looked up and Paula captured her lips in her own, giving her a loving kiss.

"That was nice" Sophie beamed as the kiss ended.

Paula just smiled at Sophie and pulled her into her, wrapping her arms around her.

"I'm sorry about last night, you made all that effort and I ruined it" Sophie said quietly.

"It's alright, don't worry about it" 

"It's not alright though is it, I ran off and I shouldn't of done" Sophie stated as she shifted so she could look at Paula.

"Honestly Soph, I'm just glad you're here, that's all that matters" Paula reassured her, before leaning in and giving her another kiss. 

"You really don't know just how much you mean to me" Paula softly spoke again.

"Show me" Sophie said cheekily.

Paula smiled at Sophie before rolling on top of her and crashing their lips together once more.


	34. 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of your lovely comments, I have decided to carry on with this story, after some of you sparked some ideas into my head....I'm starting with the verdict of Sally''s trial and then after that the story will turn quite dark....thanks for reading :)

It was the day of Sally's trial and Sophie was terrified, she was pacing around her bedroom thinking about everything that could possibly happen, which was making her feel a lot worse, but she couldn't help it. 

"Hey you, are you ready to go" Paula said quietly as she walked into her bedroom.

"Yeah....what if the jury don't believe my Mum, she can't cope in prison any longer" Sophie replied with her back to Paula.

"I don't know Soph, but I'm going to do my best to make sure that doesn't happen okay" Paula answered as she wrapped her arms around Sophie from behind and kissed her on her cheek.

"I know you will"

"We should get going" Paula said as she took hold of Sophie's hand and led her downstairs.

They finally got to the court house and met Tim and Gina in the waiting area.

"Does she have a chance of getting out?" Tim asked worriedly, pacing up and down the hallway.

"Well there is no hard evidence to suggest that Sally actually did anything, so I think we've got a pretty strong case" Paula replied confidently.

Paula wasn't entirely confident at all, but she couldn't let Sophie, Tim and Gina know that. She knew it was Sally's word against Duncan's and she knew how convincing and sly he was. Him and his solicitor would no doubt put Sally through it and twist everything she said and put all of the blame onto her. But still she had to put a brave face on for Sally and her family.

Before they knew it they were all sitting in the court room hearing all of the evidence against Sally. Duncan and his solicitor did exactly what Paula thought they would do, and blame everything on Sally. When it was Paula's turn though she gave as good as she got and tried to convince the jury that Duncan was a liar and that Sally was innocent. Afterwards the jury left and court was in recess until they made a decision.

"How can he just stand up there and say all of them lies about my Mum, it's wrong, she would never do any of them things" Sophie raged angrily once they reached the waiting area.

"Because he is a horrible, vindictive man, and he better hope I don't get my hands on him" Tim also raged.

"That's not the way to solve this, and you won't make things any better for Sally if you do, so please try and calm down Tim" Paula said firmly.

"I know, I know, I'm just so angry" Tim replied.

"We all are, but we have to stay strong for Sal" Gina said, placing her hand on Tim's shoulder.

Half an hour had passed and they were still waiting for the verdict. Paula had gone to talk to Sally whilst Sophie, Gina and Tim all waited in the hallway ready to be called back in.

"Finally" Tim said as someone came out and called Sally's case back into the court room.

"Has the jury reached a verdict on which you are all agreed, on all three charges?" The judge asked as everyone sat waiting anxiously.

"We have" 

"On the charge of fraud, do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty?" 

"Guilty"

"On the charge of money laundering do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty?"

"Guilty"

On the charge of bribery, do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty?"

"Guilty"

That was it, the worst outcome that all of them dreaded.

"No, I didn't do it" Sally cried as they took her back to the cells.


	35. 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not quite sure about this chapter, but here is the next part....thank you for reading!!

Sophie cried uncontrollably as she watched her Mum being took down to the cells. Paula looked at her with a defeated look on her face, she just wanted to run over and wrap her arms around her lover, but she couldn't, not until they had left the courtroom.

"This is all yours and Paula's fault" Tim said angrily at Sophie, as they waited in the hallway for Paula.

"I'm sorry" Sophie sobbed.

"So you should be because you've ruined your Mum's life" 

"Tim" Gina said firmly, grabbing hold of his arm, as a sign for him to shut up and calm down.

Just at that point Paula was walking towards them, as soon as Sophie saw her she practically ran into her arms and Paula wrapped them tightly around her.

"I'm so sorry Sophie, I did everything I could" Paula said gently.

"I know" Sophie whispered through her tears.

"So what happens now?" Tim asked as he walked over to Sophie and Paula.

"Another date will be made to establish sentencing, but in the meantime I can get an appeal started" Paula replied.

"Will that work?" Gina asked.

"We can only try" Paula said.

"So even if we appeal, Sally could still be facing a long prison sentence....this is all your fault, yours and Sophie's, if you two would of never jumped into bed with each other, then none of this would of happened" Tim shouted.

"This is not mine or Sophie's fault, Sally made her own decisions and in turn made things a lot worse for herself, and you need to realise that" Paula said firmly.

Tim didn't say anything, instead he turned away and began to walk off, dragging Gina with him.

"He's right, it is my fault, our fault" Sophie stated.

"No Sophie, it's nobody's fault. You've seen what Duncan is like, he could convince anybody. So please stop blaming yourself" Paula soothed as she pulled Sophie closer into her.

"Can I stay at yours tonight? I can't face going back home, not yet" Sophie asked, looking up at Paula.

"Of course....but first I need to go and talk to your Mum, wait here for me?" 

"Can't I come with you to see her?" 

"No, I'm sorry Soph" 

"Okay, I'll wait here" Sophie said sadly as she sat down on one of the chairs.

Paula headed off to go and see Sally whilst Sophie sat on the chair by herself thinking about everything that had happened, and how it was all her fault. Her thoughts got too much however and she decided to leave, without letting Paula know. She headed to the nearest pub and got herself a large glass of wine. Whilst sat at the bar on her own, a young man walked over to her and began chatting with her.

"Hey, I'm Tom" the young man said, taking a seat beside her.

"Hi, Sophie" Sophie smiled weakly.

"Tough day?" 

"You could say that" Sophie answered as she ordered another glass of wine.

"How about I show you a good time, you know cheer you up a bit" Tom asked.

"Are you kidding me? No thanks" Sophie said, disgusted.

"Why not? Come on it'll be fun, don't be so boring" Tom persued, placing his hand on Sophie's thigh.

"Don't touch me....I said no, now just leave me alone" Sophie spat angrily.

"Well someone's a little bit pissy" 

"I am not interested in you, you pathetic little boy, now just leave me the fuck alone" Sophie said harshly as she downed her wine and ordered another one.

Meanwhile Paula had finished talking with Sally and was confused when she went back to the hall way and didn't see Sophie waiting for her. She thought Sophie might have gone to the bathroom so decided to sit and wait for her. Minutes ticked by and there was still no sign of her, which panicked Paula because of the state Sophie was in when she left her. She decided to give her a call.

"Sophie where are you? I thought you was waiting for me in the hall way? Give me a call back to let me know you're okay please" Paula spoke as she left a voicemail.

She sighed and left the court house and headed to Weatherfield, hoping Sophie had gone home. When she got there though there was no sign of her. Tim, Gina, Kevin or Yasmeen hadn't seen or heard from her since leaving the court house. She then went home to see if she had gone there, but she hadn't. Paula was beginning to worry even more, this wasn't like Sophie at all. She tried phoning her again, but she didn't pick up, so instead sent her a text.

'Sophie where are you? I'm really worried about you, please give me a call xx' 

Paula sighed, and flicked the TV on whilst she waited for Sophie to reply. 

Over at the pub, Sophie was on her 4th glass of wine and was beginning to feel a little tipsy. Tom had eventually left her alone and was now sat at a table with another man chatting. Sophie glanced out of the window of the pub and noticed that it was getting dark outside, so she finished off her glass of wine and left the pub. 

Another two hours had passed and Paula was going out of her mind wondering where Sophie was. She decided to phone Kevin to see if he had seen or heard from her yet, but he hadn't. He was now also concerned about her whereabouts, as Paula had told him about the state Sophie was in after the trial. He decided to send her a message.

'Sophie, give me a call when you get this please xx' 

Kevin didn't get a response from Sophie either and was now sat worrying about her, as was Paula.


	36. 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow updates, been busy getting everything ready for Christmas. I know some of you maybe won't like where I'm going with this story at the minute, but bear with me, the end is in sight!!

Another hour had passed before Sophie finally returned home. 

"Where the hell have you been Soph? Me and Paula were worried about you!!" Kevin  said as he got up and hugged his daughter.

"Well I'm fine, I just went to a pub near the court house....I'm going to bed" Sophie replied as she pulled out of Kevin's embrace and headed for the stairs.

"You better let Paula know you're home" 

"I will" 

Once upstairs Sophie sat on her bed and burst into tears, bringing her knees up to her chest and burying her head in them. When she had calmed down she sent Paula a text.

'I'm home xx'

'Are you okay? I'm coming over xx' 

'I'm fine....no don't come round, I just want to be on my own xx' 

'Sophie, please let me be there for you xx' 

Paula didn't get another reply back off Sophie which worried her a bit as she knew Sophie wasn't coping. Paula sighed and decided to respect Sophie's wishes of wanting to be on her own. She instead headed upstairs to bed. Just as she got into bed her phone bleeped, it was Kevin.

'Sophie's home, I told her to let you know but I don't know if she did or not' 

'Yeah, she text me and said she wanted to be on her own. I'm worried about her, she's not taken this well at all'

'No she hasn't, but she will be fine, she's strong is our Sophie' 

'I hope so' 

Paula placed her phone down on the bedside table and tried to get some sleep. Meanwhile Kevin went to check on Sophie, when he entered her bedroom he seen her curled up into a ball on her bed sobbing. He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her, but Sophie flinched causing him to move his hand away quickly.

"Soph, I'm so sorry about your Mum. I know it's hard but try and think positive....I'm sure Paula will do everything she can to try and get her out of there" Kevin said softly, as Sophie looked up at him.

"I know" was all Sophie could say as she wrapped her arms around her Dad, trying to find some sort of comfort. 

Kevin sat with his arms wrapped around his daughter for a little while before leaving Sophie alone again. Sophie tried to get some sleep, but her head was spinning with everything that happened that day. When she did eventually fall asleep she tossed and turned all night, making little whimpering noises every now and then. Morning came and Sophie felt tired and numb from all the crying she had done the day before. Her phone bleeped, she reached for it and saw a message from Paula.

'Morning, how are you today? Shall I come over later and keep you company whilst your Dad's at work? Xx'

Sophie couldn't face Paula right now, so decided to ignore the message and bury herself back into her quilt cover. Over at Paula's house, Paula was getting ready for the day, whilst waiting for a reply off Sophie, which never came. Paula sighed and put her phone in her bag before leaving the house and heading into work. By mid afternoon Paula was wondering why Sophie still hadn't replied to her. She began to wonder if Sophie blamed her for her Mum being sent to prison, and that being the reason why she wasn't replying to her. She decided she needed to go and talk to Sophie, to see what was going on. Meanwhile, Sophie had just got out of the shower and got dressed, taking her dirty clothes downstairs and throwing them in the washing machine. She was just about to head back up to bed when she heard someone knocking at the door. She stood still for a moment, deciding if she should answer it or not. She did answer it, and there stood Paula.

"What are you doing here?" Sophie asked bluntly.

"You didn't reply to me, so I thought I would come and see you, to make sure you were okay" Paula stated as she grabbed hold of Sophie's hand, causing Sophie to flinch and take a step backwards.

"I just want to be on my own, please Paula, just go" Sophie said quietly as Paula looked at her with a look of concern on her face, after noticing Sophie flinching away from her.

"Sophie, I'm sorry your Mum got sent to prison, I did everything I could for her, and I intend to carry on trying to help her" 

"I know you did, it's not your fault" 

"Then talk to me" Paula said.

"There's nothing to talk about, I'm fine....I just want to be on my own right now" Sophie answered, feeling upset all over again.

"Are you sure you're okay?" 

"Yes, now just go, leave me alone, please" Sophie said bitterly.

"Fine, I'll text you later" Paula said as she turned and got back into her car. 

Paula sat there in the drivers seat crying, she had no idea why Sophie had just rejected her and pushed her away. But one thing she did know was that something was wrong, and she was determined to find out what it was.


	37. 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a brief chapter to show how Sophie is behaving towards Paula and her Dad. Thought I'd also slightly touch on Paula's emotional side....I think i'm going to reveal what's wrong with Sophie in the next chapter....thank you for reading :)

Paula sorted herself out before heading back to work. Once there she tried to throw herself into her work, but she couldn't help but worry about Sophie. She sighed and sat back on her chair, wondering what to do next. Paula was abruptly pulled out of her thoughts when Ezra walked into her office, wanting her opinion on a case he was working on.

"Paula, I was just wondering if you could give me your opinion on this?" Ezra asked.

"Yeah sure, let me have a look" Paula replied as she took the papers out of Ezra's hand.

She sat for a short while trying to look through it, but the information just wasn't going in, she was too distracted, which didn't go unnoticed by Ezra.

"Is everything okay?" Ezra asked, concerned.

"Everything's fine" Paula smiled weakly.

"Really? Because your face is telling me different" 

"It's Sophie"

"What's happened" Ezra asked as he sat on the chair opposite Paula.

"Well after Sally's trial she just disappeared, she wouldn't answer her phone or her messages. I was worried about her, as was her Dad. Turns out she went to a pub nearby and had a few drinks, and said she wanted to be on her own. I went to see her earlier and she pushed me away" Paula explained whilst trying to stop her tears from falling.

"Is she not just upset about her Mum being sent down? I mean she might blame your relationship for it happening" 

"I thought that too, but when I mentioned it she just said it wasn't my fault and that she was fine. And then she told me to go, so I did" 

"Did she seem fine?" Ezra asked. 

"No far from it, I grabbed her hand and she flinched backwards away from me with a horrified look on her face....there's definitely something wrong, I just don't know what" Paula explained as the tears began to fall.

"Maybe you could try and cheer her up? Take her out for something to eat or the cinema? You never know, she might let something slip" Ezra suggested as he placed a comforting hand on Paula's shoulder.

"Yeah maybe....can I look at this tomorrow? I need to go home, I'm sorry"

"Sure....are you going to be alright?" 

"I'll be fine....thank you Ezra" 

"No problem" Ezra replied before leaving Paula to gather her things up ready to go home.

Once Paula got home she decided to send Sophie a message.

'Hey beautiful, how are you feeling? I was wondering if you fancied going out for something to eat with me later? Xx'

Meanwhile over in Weathefield, Sophie had received Paula's message and was staring at it, wondering what she should do. She really wanted to see Paula, but at the same time she didn't. She knew if she did that she would fall apart completely, and tell her everything, and Sophie just wasn't ready for that yet. She sighed and placed her phone on her bedside table and buried herself in her covers as the tears began to fall, ignoring Paula once again.

"What do you want for your tea?" Asked Kevin as he walked into Sophie's room.

"Nothing, I'm not hungry" Sophie stated.

"Come on Soph, you need to eat" 

"I said no, now just leave me alone" Sophie said harshly.

Kevin looked at his daughter before sighing and leaving the room. He was becoming really concerned about Sophie, she spent most of her time in her bedroom, she hardly ate anything and she wouldn't speak to anybody. Kevin didn't have a clue what to do so he turned to Paula for some help.

"Hi Paula, I was just wondering if you had spoken to Sophie today?" Kevin asked as Paula answered her phone.

"I came round earlier whilst you was at work, but she didn't say much, she just told me to go" 

"I'm really worried about her, she's hardly left her bedroom and she won't talk to me....I don't know what to do" 

"Well I text her earlier and asked if she wanted to go out for something to eat later, but she hasn't replied to me....I'm not really sure what to do either to be honest, maybe we should just give her some space like she's asked" 

"Yeah I suppose so" Kevin sighed.

"She will be okay" Paula said, not quite believing her own words.

"I know, thank you....I'll let you go, bye" 

"No problem, bye Kevin" Paula said as the phone call ended. 

Paula sighed once again, slightly annoyed at the way Sophie was acting. But none the less she decided to do what Sophie had asked, and give her some space.


	38. 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not confident with the way I've wrote this chapter, so I apologise in advance....I'd also like to thank you all for continuing reading this story, it's much apprecited :)

Two days had passed since Paula had spoken to Sophie. Sophie hadn't called her or texted her, she had heard nothing. Although Paula was worried about Sophie, she was also getting really fed up of being pushed away. She decided that she had given her enough space and it was time to find out what was going on. 

"Sophie, I don't know what's going on with you, but I'm worried about you. So can you please get in touch with me. I love you" Paula spoke to Sophie's voicemail, as her call was ignored once again. 

Back over in Weatherfield, Sophie heard her phone ringing. She looked over to see who was calling and saw the picture of herself and Paula illuminate the screen. She ignored the call, although she couldn't tear her eyes away from the photo and kept looking at it until her phone rang off. Sophie sighed, she wanted to see Paula, she had to, it wasn't fair to keep ignoring her and pushing her away like she was doing, she had done nothing wrong. After laying around thinking about it for a while, Sophie decided to get ready and go to Paula's house to see her.

Back at Paula's house, Paula was trying to keep herself busy by doing some paperwork, but she couldn't help feeling annoyed by how Sophie was acting. She kept wondering if Sophie didn't want to be with her anymore after everything that had happened with her Mum. Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Soph....come in" Paula said quietly as she opened the door, shocked to see Sophie standing there.

"I'm sorry for ignoring you and pushing you away recently" Sophie said awkwardly, as she followed Paula's actions and sat down on the sofa, leaving a bit of distance between them both.

"Have I done something? Please just be honest with me Sophie" 

"No not at all....it's just everything with my Mum has hit me really hard" Sophie began to say but stopped, wondering if she should tell Paula the whole truth. 

"I know it has, but...."

"There's something else" Sophie interrupted before Paula could finish what she was saying.

"What's wrong?" Paula asked as she saw a look of terror appear on Sophie's face.

"I..I..I was raped" Sophie stuttered as tears began to fall freely from her eyes.

"Oh Sophie" Paula said in complete shock, as she placed her hand on top of Sophie's, only for her to flinch away.

"I'm sorry" Sophie whispered as she quickly stood up from the sofa.

"When did this happen?" Paula asked as she also stood up from the sofa to face Sophie.

"The day my Mum got sent down....after I left the pub" 

"Why didn't you tell me?" 

"Because I was terrified, I didn't know what to do. And I was scared if I told you that you would find it hard to deal with and then you would just leave me, and I couldn't bear that, I love you too much to lose you Paula"

"I'm so sorry you've had to go through all of this on your own....but just know that you don't have to now, because I'm here for you, I'm not going anywhere, I love you" Paula said emotionally before Sophie launched herself into her arms crying uncontrollably. Paula wrapped her arms tightly around Sophie and just held her closely to her for a little while, letting her release all of her emotions.


	39. 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a very short chapter, I apologise, the next one will probably be a bit longer though!! 
> 
> Also, I just wanted to thank everyone again for reading my story and for leaving comments....I'm having a tough time at the minute regarding my mental health, but the support you have all shown me through this story has helped greatly, and I really appreciate it, so thank you!!

Sophie eventually calmed down and pulled herself out of Paula's embrace and sat down on the sofa, Paula sitting down next to her.

"Do you know who it was?" Paula asked.

"Some guy called Tom. I met him in the pub and he offered to show me a good time, but when I said that I wasnt interested and told him to fuck off he got all pissy with me" 

"Did you leave after that?" 

"No, he eventually left me alone and went and sat down with another man, so I stayed for another drink before leaving" Sophie explained.

"Did you not see him follow you out?"

"No, I wasn't really paying attention, I thought he'd given up....but the next thing I know I was dragged into a back alley, and he attacked me.... and I..I couldn't stop him" Sophie said shakily.

"I'm so sorry that you've had to go through that Soph....Have you been to the police?" Paula asked carefully.

"No....nobody knows, only you" 

"Sophie, I think you should tell the police what happened" 

"No, no I can't face it, what if they don't believe me" 

"I'm sure they will love, there's no reason why they wouldn't" Paula said as she place her hand gently on Sophie's thigh.

"But there's no evidence, I've showered since it happened and I've washed the clothes I was wearing" 

"But the pub you were in will probably have CCTV, and maybe some witnesses that could clarify the situation before you left....Sophie you need to do this, you can't let him get away with it, what if he does it to someone else" 

"I just can't Paula, I can't deal with this, I can't deal with any of it" Sophie stated.

"I know it's hard, but you don't have to deal with this on your own, I'm here for you every step of the way" 

"Do you really mean that?"

"Of course, I promise you I'm not going anywhere Soph" Paula said, squeezing Sophie's thigh reassuringly.

"Okay....but can we go to the police tomorrow?" 

"Sure, whatever you want" 

Sophie smiled slightly at Paula before snuggling herself into her, finally feeling a sense of safeness again.

"Can I stay here tonight? I don't want to be on my own anymore" Sophie asked.

"Yeah of course" Paula answered.

"I love you" Sophie whispered.

"I love you too" Paula replied, as she pulled Sophie even closer into herself.

The two of them stayed snuggled up for a little while in complete silence, both of them feeling emotional and thinking about what had happened, before heading off up to bed.


	40. 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!! Sorry it's took me so long to update, I was struggling to word this chapter as it's quite a sensitive subject....but here's the next part!! Thank you for reading :)

"Morning beautiful" Paula said to Sophie, giving her a soft kiss on the lips as she slowly opened her eyes. Sophie flinched at the kiss and backed away from Paula quickly before realising where she was.

"I'm sorry" Sophie said quietly, feeling like an idiot after realising that it was Paula with her.

"It's okay, come here" Paula replied as she opened her arms, gesturing for Sophie to snuggle into her. Sophie accepted the invitation and made herself comfortable in Paula's arms.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Sophie asked.

"You had a bit of a rough night Soph, you kept tossing and turning and mumbling....so I just thought I'd let you sleep a bit longer this morning" 

"Oh, sorry if I kept you awake" 

"It's fine, don't worry about it....are you still up for going to the police today?" 

"Yeah I think so, I'm just scared" Sophie said.

"I know you are, but I'll be with you throughout it all" 

"I know, thank you" 

"Come on let's get ready and go and get some breakfast before we go" Paula said, releasing her arms from around Sophie.

After they had both had some breakfast they headed to the police station, Sophie getting more nervous and scared the closer they got.

"I can't do this" Sophie said in barely a whisper as they parked up outside the station.

"I'm here okay, it's going to be alright. You can do this Soph, I know you can" Paula tried to reassure her.

Paula got out of the car and walked round to open Sophie's door for her. Sophie finally got out of the car and grabbed hold of Paula's hand tightly as they made their way to the front desk.

"I..I want to report a rape" Sophie said shakily, squeezing Paula's hand even tighter.

"Can I take your name please?" The man on the reception desk asked. 

"Sophie Webster" 

"Okay Sophie, if you take a seat over there someone will be with you shortly" The man said, pointing towards the chairs across from the desk.

Sophie sat on the chair next to Paula, still holding onto her hand tightly. She was trembling with fear, she didn't want to be here, she just wanted to go home with Paula and hide away from the rest of the world. But she knew she had to do this, she couldn't let him get away with what he had done to her. Paula noticed how scared Sophie was and gently stroked her hand with her thumb, trying to reassure her.

"Sophie Webster?" A woman asked as she stood in front of them.

"Yeah" Sophie said quietly.

"Hi, I'm DI Helen Malloy, Would you like to follow me to the interview room please so we can talk more privately and comfortably" the lady said politely.

"Will you come with me?" Sophie asked Paula as she stood up ready to follow the officer.

"Of course I will....is that alright?" Paula asked the officer.

"That is fine, but can I please ask your relation to Sophie" 

"She's my partner" Paula stated.

"Thank you, please follow me" 

DI Malloy led Paula and Sophie into the interview room and got them seated.

"Would any of you like some water before we begin?" 

"Yes please" Sophie replied.

"I'm alright thank you" Paula answered.

"Okay, I'll go and get you some, I'll be back in a minute" DI Malloy smiled before leaving the room.

"It's going to be alright, try and calm down Soph" Paula said, noticing how anxious and scared Sophie still was.

"It's just hard to say it all out loud, to relive it all over again" Sophie replied.

"I know it's hard love, but you're doing the right thing" Paula said reassuringly. Sophie smiled weakly at Paula just as DI Malloy came back into the room.

"Firstly I have to tell you that this interview will be recorded, is that okay?" DI Malloy said as she carefully placed the glass of water down on the table and sat down across from the two women.

"Yeah" Sophie answered.

"If at any time during the interview you feel uncomfortable just let me know and we can stop okay" 

Sophie nodded her head in response before DI Malloy pressed record on the tape recorder.

DI Malloy stated who was present at the interview for the benefit of the tape before beginning to ask Sophie what had happened.

"Please can you tell me what happened Sophie, and try not to leave anything out, the smallest details can be really helpful" 

"I went to 'The Anchor' pub down the road from the courthouse after my Mum's trial. I was upset and just wanted a couple of drinks. Whilst I was sat at the bar a man named Tom came and sat down next to me and started talking to me, he seemed nice at first but then he told me he would show me a good time to try and cheer me up a bit. I told him I wasn't interested and he got annoyed and kept trying to persue me, then after he realised I wasn't giving in he went and sat down at a table with another man. I thought nothing more of it and got myself another drink before leaving. I was walking up the street back to the courthouse to see if Paula was still there and the next thing I know I was being dragged into a back alley, and then he attacked me" Sophie explained whilst trying to hold back the tears.

"Are you certain that it was the man from the pub?" DI Malloy asked.

"I'm positive....I seen his face, and there was no mistaking the aftershave he was wearing and the horrible smell of his breath.....I screamed at him to stop but he wouldn't, he just carried on" Sophie stated uncomfortably. Which didn't go unnoticed by Paula and the officer.

"Do you want to take a break?" Asked the detective.

"No, I just want to get it over and done with" Sophie replied as Paula took hold of Sophie's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Did he say anything to you?"

"He kept telling me that I deserved it and that nobody gets to reject him" 

"Okay....did he wear a condom?" The detective asked.

"No" Sophie simply said.

"What did you do after it had happened?" 

"I just sat there in shock for a few minutes and then I called a taxi to take me home" Sophie answered, tears visibly rolling down her face.

"What did you do with the clothes you were wearing?" 

"I had a shower and threw them in the washing machine....I realise now that it was a stupid thing to do, but I just wanted to get all traces of him off of me" 

"It's fine Sophie.....Did you tell anyone what had happened?" The detective asked.

"No, I shut myself in my bedroom for days, I just couldn't face telling anyone....I pushed everyone away, especially Paula, because I knew she would see straight through me. But after a few days of being alone I couldn't stand it anymore and I decided to tell Paula yesterday" Sophie explained, getting even more upset.

"Okay, is there anything else that you want to add?"

"No, I've told you everything" Sophie said quietly.

"Alright, thank you Sophie" DI Malloy said as she turned off the tape recorder.

"Can I go home now?" Sophie asked.

"Well actually I'd like you to go and get a rape kit done, if that's okay? You said he didn't use a condom and although you've showered there might still be traces of his DNA" the detective explained.

"Yeah that's alright, where do I get it done?"

"If you come with me I will show you to the examination room" 

Sophie just nodded her head and stood up from her chair, Paula following her actions. Sophie grabbed hold of Paula's hand immediately before following DI Malloy to the examination room.


	41. 41

"This is the examination room where Dr Banner will do the rape kit....dont worry you're in good hands" DI Malloy said just before knocking on the door and leading Sophie and Paula into the room.

Sophie was getting really nervous and scared all over again. The thought of anybody touching her down there terrified her. Paula noticed the look on Sophie's face and squeezed her hand in reassurance.

"Hi, I'm Dr Banner, I'm going to be carrying out the rape kit, is that okay?" The Dr asked.

"Yeah" Sophie said in barely a whisper.

"Okay, if I could just ask the two of you to wait outside please" Dr Banner said, directing it at DI Malloy and Paula.

"No, I want Paula to stay, please" Sophie stated in complete panic.

The doctor looked at Paula and nodded her head, in a way of telling her that she could stay. 

"I'm not going anywhere okay, just try and calm down Soph" Paula said with a sound of reassurance in her voice.

Sophie clung on to Paula tightly, and tried to calm herself down whilst the Doctor explained the procedure. After explaining what was about to happen, the Doctor asked Sophie to remove her clothes and put a gown on and lie back on the bed so they could begin.

"Okay Sophie, this might feel a bit uncomfortable but it's not going to take long alright" Dr Banner said.

Sophie nodded her head in response and squeezed Paula's hand even tighter than before as the Doctor took the swab. After that, she told Sophie to take her gown off so that she could check her for any cuts or bruises. Sophie hated this part, she felt embarrassed sitting there naked with a complete stranger looking her up and down. Paula hadn't even seen her naked like this before, every time they had finished having sex, Sophie would pull the duvet up around herself to cover herself up. And now here she was feeling completely embarrassed whilst a stranger thoroughly checked her body over.

"Are we nearly done?" Asked Sophie uncomfortably.

"Yes, in fact I'm actually finished now....so you can get dressed" the Doctor stated.

"Thank God for that" Sophie said, pulling the gown around her and heading behind the curtain to put her own clothes back on.

Sophie reappeared from behind the curtain and went and stood right next to Paula, taking her hand once more. 

"So what happens now?" Asked Sophie quietly.

"I will send the sample you gave me to the lab so it can be processed, and any results will be sent directly to DI Malloy" The Doctor explained.

"So I don't need to do anything else now?" Sophie asked again.

"No, but before you go I would like to give you some phone numbers of local charities and councillors that specialise in dealing with the effects of being raped, just in case you feel like you need someone to talk to" The Doctor explained again.

"Okay, thank you" Sophie said, taking the card with the numbers on, before leaving the room with Paula. 

DI Malloy was waiting outside the room when they opened the door to leave. She quickly explained what was going to happen next before letting Sophie leave with Paula.

"Do you want me to take you home or do you want to go back to mine?" Paula asked Sophie as they got into the car.

"Yours" Sophie simply stated.

"No problem" Paula said, giving her a small smile. 

There was silence as Paula drove back to her house, she knew Sophie wasn't okay, but she didn't know what to say to try and help her. All she could do was keep looking over at her and giving her a loving look, wishing that she could do something.

"Are you hungry?" Paula asked, finally breaking the silence.

"No, but you can stop and get something if you want" Sophie said quietly.

"I'm fine" Paula replied.

The drive fell into complete silence once again, besides a few deep sighs from Sophie. After what seemed like hours, they eventually arrived back at Paula's house. Both of them got out of the car and went inside, without saying a word. However, as soon as the door closed behind them Sophie completely broke down into tears and Paula immediately wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close. 

"I'm here Soph, I've got you" Paula whispered, running her hand up and down Sophie's back comfortingly as she sobbed into her shoulder.

Still, Sophie never said a word, she just clung onto Paula tighter, letting all of her emotions out. Paula managed to manoeuvre Sophie into the living room and sat them both down on the sofa, not once letting go of her. She eventually felt Sophie relax a bit into her arms, and just carried on holding her until she finally spoke.

"I'm sorry" Sophie finally breathed out.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for" Paula replied, pulling away from Sophie slightly so she could look at her.

"But you shouldn't have to deal with all of this, it's a mess, I'm a mess" Sophie stated, more tears forming in her eyes.

"No, don't say that, you're not a mess, you're just going through a difficult time, and I want to be here for you Sophie....I'm not going anywhere okay, I love you" Paula replied, looking deeply into Sophie's eyes.

"I love you too" Sophie whispered as she clung to Paula once more, tears rolling down her face.


	42. Chapter 42.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, sorry I've not updated in a while, I've not been doing too great health wise, but feeling a lot better now, so hopefully will be back to updating regularly again.

Paula woke up to another morning, she looked over at Sophie who was still sleeping and sighed. It had been a week since Sophie was attacked and she hadn't left Paula's house since she told her everything. Every night she tossed and turned and whimpered, she was just restless. She also hadn't been eating very much and Paula was becoming quite concerned about her, she felt helpless because she didnt know what to do to help her.

"Morning beautiful" Paula smiled as Sophie opened her eyes.

"Morning" Sophie replied as she shuffled over the bed to snuggle into Paula.

They would usually share a loving kiss when they woke up, but the last few days they hadn't. Sophie didn't initiate one and Paula didn't want to push her after what had happened.

"What do you fancy for breakfast?" Paula asked.

"I'm not hungry" 

"You have to eat something Soph, please"

"Fine, I will later" Sophie sighed, "can we just stay here like this for a bit" she added.

"Okay love" Paula replied as she gently stroked Sophie's hair.

The two of them lay snuggled up in complete silence for a little while before Paula got up to go and make them both some breakfast in bed. Paula had made them some toast, but Sophie hardly ate any of it. 

"Is it alright if I go for a shower?" Sophie asked, placing her plate of toast on the bedside table.

"Sure, there's some towels in the bathroom cupboard" Paula answered.

"Thanks" Sophie smiled weakly.

Paula decided to take the breakfast plates downstairs and wash them whilst Sophie was in the shower. Just as she had put away the last plate her phone rang.

"Hi Kevin" 

"Hi Paula, I just wondered if Sophie was okay, I haven't heard from her and she's not answering my texts or calls" Kevin said with a worried tone to his voice, which didn't go unnoticed by Paula.

"Yeah she's fine, she's just upset about her Mum being in prison, she hasn't took it well at all" Paula lied.

"Hmm well will you let her know I've called and give her my love"

"I will do"

"Oh and Paula, look after her and make sure she's okay, please" 

"I will, I promise"

"Thanks, I will let you go, bye"

"Bye Kevin" Paula said as she ended the call and then placed her phone on the kitchen table.

Paula leant back against the kitchen counter and sighed heavily, she hated lying, especially to Sophie's Dad, but she promised Sophie that she wouldn't say anything. Paula kept herself busy by tidying the kitchen up a bit, before realising that Sophie had been in the shower for almost an hour. She made her way upstairs to make sure she was okay.

"Sophie, are you okay?" Shouted Paula, loud enough so Sophie could hear her over the running water. 

No answer.

"Sophie" Paula shouted again.

When Sophie didn't answer the second time she opened the bathroom door and walked in to see her sat with her knees pulled up to her chest sobbing on the floor in the corner of the room.

"Soph, you look freezing" Paula said softly as she grabbed a towel, turned the shower off and went and sat down next to her on the floor. 

Sophie didn't say anything, she didn't even look up at Paula, she just carried on sobbing heavily. Paula gently wrapped the towel around Sophie and began stroking her arm with her thumb in an attempt to comfort the young woman. There was nothing Paula could do besides sit with Sophie until she had calmed down.

"He's taken it away from me, the one thing that I had, and he's taken it away" Sophie said quietly in between her sobs.

"Taken what Sophie?" Paula asked softly.

"My purity of not being with a man....I didn't want any man to touch me, and he did, he took that away from me Paula, and I feel horrible, dirty and ashamed for letting him do that to me....I fucking hate him and what he's done to me" Sophie said sobbing harder.

"There's nothing for you to feel ashamed of, it's not your fault Sophie, this is on him, what he did was horrible and I'm not going to let him get away with it" 

Sophie didn't say anything, she just looked up at Paula and wrapped herself up in her arms as she sobbed even harder.

"Come on Soph let's get you dressed eh, you're freezing" Paula said after Sophie had calmed down a little bit again.

Sophie nodded her head, so Paula stood up and took her by the hand and led her into the bedroom.

"Here put these on" Paula said, handing Sophie a pair of joggers and a t-shirt.

"Thanks....will you do my hair for me?" asked Sophie as she began putting the clothes on.

"Sure love" replied Paula, positioning herself behind Sophie ready to comb her hair.

They both sat silently as Paula combed through Sophie's damp and tangled hair. When she had finished she turned Sophie around on the bed so she was facing her.

"Your Dad phoned me earlier, he said you haven't been answering his calls or texts" Paula said carefully as she didn't want to upset Sophie again.

"What did you say?" 

"I told him you were upset about your Mum being in prison....he's worried about you Soph, maybe you should talk to him" Paula suggested.

"No, I can't Paula, I just can't go through it all again, please don't make me" Sophie said, starting to get upset again at the thought of telling her Dad.

"Okay love, I'm not going to make you do anything you're not ready for....but you will have to tell him eventually, and when you do, I will be right there with you" Paula replied, gently pulling Sophie in for a cuddle.

"I know, thank you" Sophie said quietly.

"Why don't we go out for a McDonalds or something?" Asked Paula pulling slightly away from Sophie so she could look at her.

"No, I want to stay here" 

"But you love McDonalds, and I'm paying" said Paula, trying to coax Sophie into going out.

"I said no" Sophie shot back sharply.

"Alright, snuggling up on the sofa and films it is then" sighed Paula.

After the 2nd film had finished Paula looked down at Sophie snuggled up in her arms fast asleep. 'What am I gonna do with you eh' she sighed to herself as she gently stroked Sophie's cheek. Paula knew she had to try and get Sophie to go out again, to try and take back some control of her life, instead of sitting in the house all day doing nothing and thinking about everything that had happened. She decided that tomorrow would be the day to do it, to help Sophie find herself again.


	43. Chapter 43.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the comments on the last chapter, it means a lot :) here's the next one.

The next morning Sophie woke up to find Paula propped up in bed next to her reading a book.

"Babe it's 9am and you're reading a book, do you ever sleep?" Groaned Sophie as she looked up at Paula.

"Well good morning to you too" chuckled Paula. "And yes I do sleep, I'm just used to waking up early" 

"Hmm, put that bloody book down and snuggle with me" 

"Alright bossy boots" Paula laughed as she placed the book on the bedside table and shuffled back down in the bed to snuggle with Sophie.

Sophie turned onto her side so she was facing Paula and put her arm over her waist to pull her in closer. She looked into Paula's eyes and smiled. It was a genuine smile, one that Paula hadn't seen for a while.

"What you smiling at?" 

"Just you, I love being here with you" Sophie whispered.

"Well I love having you here" 

Sophie looked intently into Paula's eyes before leaning in and giving her a soft kiss on the lips. Paula wasn't expecting it as they hadn't shared a kiss since the attack. She didn't want to push it though, so instead she just smiled back at Sophie lovingly before pulling her closer into her for a proper cuddle.

"Come on you, we need to get dressed" Paula said after a while, pulling out of the embrace.

"I don't want to get dressed, I just want to stay here with you all day" 

"Tough, because you and me are going out so...."

"Nope I'm not going anywhere" Sophie interrupted.

"Yes you are, we are not spending another day stuck in this house, we are going out for a walk and I'm not taking no for an answer. So get your ass out of this bed and get dressed" Paula stated.

"But Paula...." Sophie started to protest.

"No buts Sophie, now get moving" instructed Paula as she got out of bed.

Sophie looked up at her and sighed, there was no point in arguing with her because she wouldn't win. She got out of bed and began getting ready.

"Right breakfast, and before you say 'I'm not hungry', you're having some" Paula said when they were both ready.

Sophie sighed again before following Paula downstairs into the kitchen and sitting at the table.

"Do you want toast or cereal?" Asked Paula.

"Toast" Sophie replied bluntly.

Paula didn't really like being bossy with Sophie like this, but it was the only way she could think of to help get her back on track and so far it was working. After making sure Sophie ate all of her toast Paula cleared the breakfast plates away and grabbed them both a bottle of water each from the fridge.

"Are you ready?" Paula asked, turning round to face Sophie.

"No, Paula I don't want to go, I can't" Sophie stated, starting to panic. 

"Yes you can, you can do this Soph and I'll be with you, I'm not going anywhere" Paula said reassuringly as she walked over to Sophie and took her hand in her own.

"Fine" Sophie sighed as she reluctantly stood up from the table and walked towards the door, Paula following behind her.

Paula decided to drive them both to the park as there was a beautiful nature route that they could walk along.

"You'll be fine Soph" Paula reassured Sophie as she got out of the car and stood nervously on the path.

Sophie gave Paula a weak smile and grabbed hold of her hand tightly as they began to walk.

"What kind of bird is that?" Asked Sophie, stopping to look at a bird perched on the branch of a tree.

"That is a Blue Tit, gorgeous birds aren't they" 

"Yeah I like its colours....do you know a lot about birds?" Sophie questioned.

"I wouldn't say a lot, but I know most of the different types of species of them" 

"Well that's more than I know" smiled Sophie as they began walking again.

They both carried on walking along the path, Sophie becoming more and more relaxed as she spotted more birds and asked Paula to identify them. They eventually made it to the end of the route and found a bench to sit on by the lake.

"How about I get us an ice cream?" Paula suggested.

"Yeah that would be nice, it's bloody roasting out here" 

"Are you waiting here, or are you coming with me?" 

"I'll come with you" Sophie said, getting up from the bench, taking Paula's hand again and heading towards the ice cream van.

As they they were walking back to the bench with their ice creams one of Paula's old friends saw them and walked up to them.

"Paula hi, it's been a while" 

"Hi Julie, yes it has, how are you?" Asked Paula.

"I'm good thank you, and yourself?" Answered Julie, glancing down at Sophie and Paula's hands entwined.

"I'm alright thanks....Umm this is my partner Sophie" Paula said, looking at Sophie lovingly.

"Lovely to meet you Sophie" Julie smiled, holding out her hand for Sophie to shake.

"And you" Sophie smiled back, shaking the other woman's outstretched hand.

"So, anything new happening with you then since the last time we saw each other?" Asked Paula.

"Hmm yeah I got married, he's amazing Paula, treats me perfectly, not like the other men I've been with" 

"Good, I'm glad you've found someone who makes you happy....I know I definitely have" Stated Paula, a big smile spreading across her face.

"I can tell" laughed Julie. "Anyway I have to get going Paula, we will have to have a proper catch up soon" 

"Yes we do, give me a text and we will sort something out....it was nice seeing you Julie" 

"And you Paula, was nice to meet you Sophie" said Julie, smiling at them both.

"You too" Replied Sophie, smiling back.

After Julie had gone Sophie and Paula made their way back over to the bench to finish off their ice creams.

"Julie seemed nice, and she didn't seem to be phased by us being together" Sophie stated, taking a seat next to Paula on the bench.

"Yeah she's alright is Julie, not really one to judge people....But believe me she will have plenty of questions when we have that catch up" Laughed Paula.

"Well I'm sure you will give her all the details" Laughed Sophie.

"Mmmm maybe not all of them" smirked Paula, giving Sophie a wink.

Sophie shook her head at that comment and then rested her head on Paula's shoulder.

The two women stayed like that on the bench for a while longer, enjoying the scenery and each other's company. 

"Can we go home now babe?" Sophie asked.

"Of course, come on" Paula replied, smiling at the fact that Sophie had called her place home.

Once they got back to Paula's house Sophie flung herself down on the sofa, feeling exhausted from their little walk.

"Gosh I'm knackered from that walk, I think you're trying to kill me" Sophie joked.

"Really? How much younger are you than me again?" Laughed Paula, sitting down next to Sophie.

"Umm half, but to be fair I haven't been to the gym for ages"

"Excuses, excuses" Paula said, shaking her head.

"Thank you for today though, I think it's what I needed" Sophie stated, gazing into Paula's eyes.

"You're welcome, and It's definitely what you needed. I'm glad you're feeling a bit better" Paula replied, looking at Sophie.

Sophie smiled at Paula before leaning in and kissing her softly. Paula pulled away slightly but Sophie placed her hand on the back of her head, pulling her back in and kissed her again more passionately.  
The kiss started to heat up more and more, Sophie running her hand up Paula's top and caressing her stomach.

"Soph" Paula breathed, breaking the kiss.

"I want to" whispered Sophie, crashing their lips together once again.

Paula relaxed into the kiss as Sophie began to unfasten the buttons on her blouse. 

"Mmmm that feels good" Paula moaned as Sophie moved her hand up under her bra, and began caressing one of her boobs.

Paula wanted Sophie to feel what she was feeling so slowly ran her hand up her top, revelling in the feel of her soft skin. Sophie flinched at Paula's touch and sprang away from her quickly.

"I'm sorry" Sophie breathed out shakily, looking down at her hands.

"No I'm sorry, I shouldn't of just touched you like that without asking you first" 

"But you shouldn't have to ask me Paula, you're my girlfriend, you're allowed to touch me" Sophie stated, getting visibly upset. 

"Hey come here, don't get upset about it, it's okay" Paula soothed, opening her arms up for Sophie to embrace her, which she did.

"How am I supposed to get through this and trust people again, when I can't even let my own girlfriend touch me" sighed Sophie.

"You'll get there slowly Soph, and I'll do my best to help you, I promise" Paula said as she gently stroked Sophie's hair.

Sophie didn't say anything else, she just gently pushed Paula backwards into the sofa and lay snuggled up wrapped in her arms.


	44. Chapter 44.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely confident with this, but I feel I should go through the aftermath of Sophie's attack before moving back on to what's happening with Sally. What do you all think? Should I carry on down this path and add a few twists and turns for Sophie and Paula?

It was Monday morning and Paula was downstairs giving the house a bit of a clean. She had left Sophie in bed to sleep for a bit longer as she had tossed and turned all night. After an hour or so of cleaning she decided to start cooking herself and Sophie a fry up for breakfast.

"Hey" Sophie said quietly as she entered the kitchen.

"Morning....I thought I'd cook us a fry up for breakfast" 

"Thanks" Sophie smiled. "I'm sorry about what happened yesterday" 

"It's fine Soph, stop worrying about it" 

"But I want to touch you though....and I want to be able to let you touch me, without me freaking out" 

"And you will get there....let's just take things slowly yeah, one step at a time" Paula said softly as she walked over to Sophie and pulled her into a hug.

"Yeah okay"

"Right, how about you go and sit down at the table and I'll go and rescue our breakfast before it burns" Paula said, kissing Sophie on her forehead as she pulled out of the embrace. 

Sophie went and took a seat at the table as Paula plated up their breakfast and made them both a coffee. 

"Well I must say I did enjoy that, thanks" Sophie stated, leaning back on her chair after finishing her breakfast.

"You're very welcome love" smiled Paula.

Paula began clearing the plates away just as Sophie's phone began to ring. Sophie answered it and began having a conversation with the person on the other end.

"Babe is it okay if DI Malloy comes here to see me?" Asked Sophie, looking over at Paula.

"Yeah that's fine" Paula answered.

After a couple more minutes of talking to the Detective Sophie sighed as she ended the call and put her phone back on the kitchen table.

"Everything okay?" Asked Paula, walking over to where Sophie was stood.

"I don't know, she said she had some news and wanted to see me" Sophie said worriedly.

"When is she coming?"

"She said it will be about 1pm....I'm scared of what she has to say, what if it's to tell me that they can't do anything because there's not enough evidence" Sophie stated, getting upset.

"Whatever it is she wants to tell you, I'll be right here with you Soph, try not to worry okay" Paula soothed.

"I know" Sophie said quietly. "I'm gonna go and get dressed" 

"Alright love" 

After Sophie had left the kitchen Paula sighed, she hated seeing Sophie all worried and upset. She just wanted to make it all stop, for it to be over with so Sophie could start rebuilding herself again.

An hour later and Sophie came back downstairs, plonking herself on the sofa next to where Paula was now sat watching TV.

"What you watching?" Asked Sophie, as she noticed that it was an ad break.

"DIY SOS" 

"I didn't know you liked programmes like that"

"I like seeing how they do them up and how the owners react when they see what they've done....don't you like watching them?"

"Sometimes yeah" 

"Well then why don't we snuggle up and watch it together?" Suggested Paula.

"I'd like that" Sophie replied, moving to snuggle into Paula.

It was almost 1pm and Sophie was on edge with nerves. Paula noticed and gently stroked Sophie's arm as she began to speak.

"Everything is going to be alright Soph, I'm here" Paula said reassuringly.

"I hope so" whispered Sophie barely audible.

Just at that point there was a knock at the door. Sophie took a deep breath in as she knew who it was going to be.

"I'll get it" Paula said as she stood up and made her way over to the door.

Paula came back into the room, DI Malloy following behind her. 

"Would you like a coffee or a tea?" Paula asked the detective.

"No I'm okay thank you" Smiled DI Malloy as she sat down opposite Sophie.

"Babe sit with me" Sophie instructed. Paula did as Sophie asked and sat down next to her, taking her hand into her own.

"How have you been Sophie?" Asked DI Malloy.

"Fine" Sophie replied bluntly. "Have you come to tell me that he's going to get away with it because I was stupid enough to wash away all of the evidence" she added.

"No, I actually came to tell you that we have Tom at the station, I questioned him this morning...." 

"Let me guess he's denying it all" Sophie cut in before the detective could finish.

"He's saying that none of it happened, that he never even spoke to you in the pub. But we've seen the CCTV footage of that time, and we've spoken to the bartender, and both of them prove that he's lying" DI Malloy explained.

"But there's no physical evidence?" Sophie questioned.

"I'm afraid not no. But I do need you to come to the station with me to identify him out of a line up, if that's okay?" 

"What now?" 

"Yes please, if you could....this can be really vital for the investigation Sophie" 

"Okay I will go then....Paula will you come with me please?" Sophie asked.

"Of course I will love" Paula replied, squeezing Sophie's hand.

20 minutes later and they arrived at the police station where DI Malloy led them to a corridor with various rooms spanning from it. She explained to Sophie what was going to happen and what she had to do.

"So he definitely won't be able to see me?" Asked Sophie.

"No, you can see him and the other men, but they can't see us, I promise you" 

"Can Paula come in with me?" 

"I'm afraid not, but she can wait out here for you"

"I don't think I can do this" Sophie stated getting upset. 

Paula turned so she was facing Sophie and took hold of both of her hands in her own.

"Look at me Soph" Sophie lifted her head up to look at Paula. "You can do this, and I'll be right out here waiting for you when you're done" 

"You promise?"

"I promise Soph" 

"Okay then I'll do it" Sophie said reluctantly.

"Please follow me" DI Malloy instructed.

10 minutes later and Sophie came back out crying and shaking.

"I saw him Paula" Sophie whispered, then went into a fully blown panic attack.

Paula grabbed hold of Sophie's arms and titled her head up so she could look her in the eyes.

"Breathe with me Sophie" Paula instructed, and then began to take slow deep breaths in and out, all the while keeping eye contact with Sophie.

After a couple of minutes Paula could could tell that Sophie's breathing was beginning to regulate again so guided her over to sit on one of the chairs that was in the corridor. 

"I feel sick" Sophie breathed.

"It will pass love, just keep breathing with me" Paula said.

"I'll go and get her some water, bring Sophie in here, it's more comfortable, and I'll be back in a minute" DI Malloy said, opening the door to another room.

Paula nodded and helped Sophie to her feet and guided her into the room, sitting her down on one of the couches that was in there. By this point Sophie had calmed down and was breathing normally.

"W-what happened?" Sophie asked shakily.

"You had a panic attack love" Paula replied, stroking Sophie's arm comfortingly.

"That was horrible" Sophie stated as she wrapped her arms around Paula, cuddling into her.

"You're alright now Soph, I've got you" Paula soothed.

DI Malloy returned with a glass of water for Sophie and took a seat on the sofa opposite them.

"How are you feeling Sophie?" DI Malloy asked.

"A bit better"

"That's good, and has this happened before?"

"No, and I don't want it to ever happen again" stated Sophie.

"And in general, how are you coping with everything?" 

"I'm fine"

"No she's not, she's not coping with it at all" Paula spoke.

"I said I'm fine Paula" Sophie said harshly.

"No you're not Sophie, you don't even get dressed most days and you've been out once in the last week. Not to mention the restless nights and the lazing around doing nothing during the day" Paula said calmly.

"What do you want me to do, jump for fucking joy and pretend I'm happy. I was raped Paula" Sophie said angrily, raising her voice.

"Sophie if you're not coping with what has happened then I can arrange for you to see a therapist, it might help you" the detective explained.

"I don't want to see a therapist, I said I'm fine didn't I" 

"Sophie love, it's important that you get the help and support you need. You know I'm here for you, but sometimes it helps to talk to a professional, so please just give it a try" Paula said, taking hold of Sophie's hand, only for Sophie to pull out of her grasp.

"And how would you know, because I doubt you've ever been to therapy" Sophie snapped.

"Paula's right, therapy could help you to deal with all that's happened. It's a safe place for you to open up and get everything off your chest without any judgement. A lot of people who have been where you are have had therapy sessions and have found that it's helped them a great deal" the Dectective spoke calmly.

Sophie looked at Paula and sighed defeatedly. She knew that Paula wouldn't let it drop.

"Fine, I'll try it, but I'm not happy about it" Sophie stated.

"You're taking a step in the right direction love" Paula said.

"Right well I'll sort your referral out and you should receive a letter within the next week or so telling you when your first appointment is" DI Malloy explained.

"Okay, can I please go home now?" Sophie asked getting frustrated.

"Yes, I will be in contact with you as soon as I've got any new information. In the meantime Sophie if there's anything I can help you with please don't hesitate to get in contact with me" Smiled the Detective.

"Yep" Sophie said bluntly before getting up from the couch and heading out of the door.

"Thank you Detective" Paula said genuinely before going to catch up with Sophie.


	45. Chapter 45.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took so long to update....I'm not entirely confident with this chapter, but here you go....

Sophie was now stood by the car, Paula had just caught up with her and was stood facing her.

"Sophie...."

"Don't" Sophie snapped, and walked round to the other side of the car before Paula could say another word.

Paula looked at Sophie and sighed before unlocking the car and climbing in the drivers side. Sophie slid into the seat next to her as Paula started the engine and began the journey home.

The journey home was quiet. Paula not daring to speak and Sophie saying nothing at all, she just gazed out of the window not acknowledging Paula's presence. After what seemed like forever they parked up on Paula's driveway and made their way into the house.

"Sophie talk to me" Paula said calmly as they both stood in the hallway.

"No, I don't want to talk, I'm tired and I want to be on my own, so just drop it Paula" Sophie said harshly.

"Okay, you go upstairs for a nap and we will talk later" 

Sophie just looked at Paula before turning away from her and making her way upstairs. After Sophie had gone, Paula went and sat in the living room and broke down in tears. She hated seeing Sophie like this, and she was finding it hard to deal with it all, she just didn't know how to help her.

"Come on Paula pull yourself together, Sophie needs you" she said to herself.

After she had managed to pull herself together she went upstairs to find Sophie fast asleep on her bed. She grabbed a blanket and placed it over Sophie and carefully layed down next to her, trying not to disturb her. However Sophie shifted slightly and placed her arm over Paula's stomach before settling back down again.

After an hour or so Sophie slowly opened her eyes and looked at Paula who was now looking back at her.

"Hey you" Paula said.

"Paula, I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier, I'm just scared" Sophie stated.

"I know love, but there's no need to be scared anymore, I'm here" 

"Earlier when you said all those things about me not getting dressed or doing anything, it made me realise just how much I'm not coping with it all and it scared me to think what a mess I'd become" Sophie said quietly.

"Sophie that's why you need to give the therapy a try, it could benefit you a lot, and help you to get your life back on track" 

"But it's the thought of talking to a complete stranger, and going through it all again" 

"Talking about it helps, and therapy really isn't that bad Soph" 

"How do you know? Have you been to therapy before?" Sophie asked.

"Yeah I have" Paula said quietly.

"What for?" 

Paula took a deep breath and began to explain to Sophie.

"After Sam caught me in bed with Courtney my squash partner things started to go downhill for me. Courtney left me, it was like all she wanted was the excitement of sneaking around, but once we got found out she was gone. Sam also left me, he moved out and asked for a divorce, leaving Isla devastated and confused as to why he wasn't living with us anymore. It broke my heart seeing my baby girl crying for her Dad all the time, especially knowing that it was my fault. Work was stressing me out as well which didn't help, and I felt like everything was crumbling down around me. I started blaming myself for everything even though I knew that both me and Sam wasn't happy in the marriage and it had broken down long before I cheated on him. It just all got too much for me, I wasn't coping at all, I felt hopeless and depressed. So I decided to go to the Doctors and ask for help, he referred me to a therapist and I attended sessions every week for 6 months" Paula explained, tears falling freely from her eyes.

"I'm sorry Paula, I didn't know it was that bad....did the therapy help?" Sophie said, taking hold of Paula's hand.

"Yeah, it helped a lot. It was good to finally get it all off my chest, and slowly I realised that I wasn't the only one to blame for the marriage breaking down, Sam was too. After that realisation I started to build myself back up again and began to focus on giving Isla the love and attention she deserved" 

"I'm glad it helped you babe....but do you really think it will help me?"

"Yes I really do Soph....and I'm sorry for pushing you, but I just want to try and help you in some way. It kills me seeing you like this, I feel so useless. I wish I could just take all of this hurt and pain away from you, but I can't" Paula said.

"You're not useless babe, you've been here for me since I told you. It's helped me a lot having you here and that means more than anything to me....I want to feel better Paula, so I will give therapy a try and see what happens" explained Sophie.

Paula didn't say anything, she just smiled at Sophie and pulled her close to her for a cuddle.

Two weeks had passed, Sophie had received the letter regarding therapy and was now on the way to her very first session with Paula.

"I don't think I can do this" Sophie said quietly as Paula parked the car up.

"Yes you can Soph....you've been through tougher situations in the last few weeks, so I know you can do this" Paula reassured her as she gently stroked the back of Sophie's hand with her thumb.

"Will you come in with me?"

"I'm not sure if I can or not, but if I can then yeah I'll come in with you" 

"Thanks" 

They both got out of the car and headed into the building and over to the reception desk. After signing in, a nice young woman directed them to the waiting area. They didn't have to wait long before another slightly older woman came out into the waiting area and called Sophie's name. Sophie stood up and walked over to the woman.

"Umm can my girlfriend come in with me? It's just I'm nervous and I'd feel better if she was with me" Sophie said.

"Usually I'd advice you to come in on your own, but as it's your first session and I can see how nervous you are, then I'll allow it" the therapist explained.

Sophie went and got Paula and they both followed the woman into a room and sat down on one of the sofas that was in there.

"It's nice to meet you Sophie, I'm Linda and I'm going to be your therapist for all of your sessions" 

Sophie smiled weakly in  
acknowledgement at the woman sat across from her and grabbed hold of Paul's hand tightly. The therapist smiled back at Sophie before directing her eyes to Paula.

"Can I ask your name please?" 

"I'm Paula, Sophie's partner" 

"It's nice to meet you Paula. I don't usually allow someone to come in with the person I'm seeing, but as it's Sophie's first session I agreed to let you come in with her. But can I please ask you to let Sophie speak as much as she can so I can get an understanding of how she is feeling and coping with everything" Linda explained.

"Yeah that's no problem" Paula smiled.

"Are you ready to begin?" Asked Linda, directing her attention back to Sophie.

Sophie nodded.

"Firstly if you feel uncomfortable at any point during the session just let me know and we can stop okay" 

Sophie just nodded at the therapist again and squeezed Paula's hand tighter.

"Can you tell me how you're feeling right now Sophie?" 

"Scared and nervous, I don't like talking about it" Sophie said quietly.

"I know it's not nice to talk about, but it will make you feel better. This is a safe place, and I want you to feel as comfortable as you can talking to me. Everything you say in this room stays in this room unless I feel that you're a danger to yourself or others. Do you understand that Sophie?" 

"Yeah" Sophie uttered.

"How are you coping at home?" Linda asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you still able to go out shopping or for a walk for example"

"Other than going to the police station and coming here, I've been out once for a walk with Paula" 

"And how was that?" 

"I was scared, I kept looking around me watching everybody, making sure he wasn't there, it was a horrible feeling"

"And how about personal care, are you looking after yourself, for instance having a shower and getting dressed?"

"Not really, all I want to do is stay in bed or lay on the sofa. But Paula makes me get up, have a shower and get dressed" 

"Well Paula is doing right at making you do those things. She's looking after you and making sure you look after yourself. Do you feel better after you've done them?" The therapist said.

"Yeah I do"

"That's good, so keep on doing those things that make you feel better" 

"I'll try"

The therapist chatted with Sophie some more about how important it was to look after herself and how she needs to start trying to go out a bit more. She explained how spending time with family and friends and even talking to them about it can help greatly. Sophie was more relaxed and chatted with the therapist calmly throughout all of it so far.

"Going back to when the attack happened, can you tell me what you spent the day doing and how you felt" asked Linda.

"It was a sad day, my Mum was in court for fraud and she got sent to prison, even though she didn't do it. It made me upset and angry. My step dad Tim blamed it all on me and Paula, because Mum found out about our relationship just before she went to court and fired Paula as her solicitor so she had no representation. I was meant to wait for Paula while she went and spoke to my Mum, but it got too much for me and I ran out of the court house. I found a pub down the road so I went in and got myself a few drinks. That's when I met Tom...." Sophie started to explain but stopped.

"What happened after you met Tom?" 

Sophie suddenly tensed up and tightened her grip on Paula's hand. 

"Paula please, I can't" Sophie whispered.

"Sophie you have too love" Paula said, giving Sophie's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Can Paula tell you, please, I just can't" Sophie asked the therapist.

The therapist noticed how worked up Sophie was getting so agreed to let Paula finish telling her what had happened. After Paula had explained Linda turned back to Sophie, who was barely holding it together.

"How did you feel whilst he was doing that to you Sophie?" 

Sophie stayed quiet for a couple of minutes before taking a deep breath in and beginning to speak.

"I wanted him to get off me, he was hurting me and I wanted him to stop, but he wouldn't he just kept telling me to shut up and that nobody gets to turn him down. It was horrible" Sophie said, tears streaming down her face. 

"What about afterwards, how did you feel then? Linda asked.

"I..I felt dirty and horrible. I've n..never been with a man before, and I let him take that away from me. It was my fault I should of stopped him" Sophie cried.

By this point it had all got too much for Sophie and she began to have another panic attack.

"I can't breathe Paula" 

"It's alright Soph, just try and breathe with me okay" Paula said, looking Sophie in the eyes whilst taking deep breaths in and out, just like she had done last time.

Sophie eventually managed to calm down and cuddled herself into Paula as close as she could. 

"I've got you Soph, it's gonna be alright" Paula said quietly as she rubbed her hand up and down Sophie's back comfortingly.

"Have you had a panic attack before Sophie?" Asked the therapist.

Sophie just nodded her head in response.

"Okay, I will give you a booklet on panic attacks to read. It will give you some techniques on how to help you deal with them when they happen"

"Thanks" Sophie said quietly, now turning her head to look at the therapist. "Can we stop now" 

"Yes, I think that might be best right now. I will see you next week and we can talk about how you can start moving forward" 

"Thank you" Sophie said again as she stood up and headed towards the door.

Paula smiled at the therapist before leaving the room and walking back to the car with Sophie.


End file.
